The record-union., 1898-04-19
A DOG HOSPITAL.
CANINE PATIENTS TREATED
LIKE HUMAN SUFFERERS.
A Unique Institution of the Uni
versity Of Pennsy1vania-Lam
Dogs in Splints.

MS Is the chorus, lnterSperSeu with
an ear-splitting "Ki-yi-yi!" which
greets the visitor to a little two-story
building on the grounds of the Univer-
slty Of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
The structure is not as one might sup
pose, the Quaker City dog pound.
Neither is it the headquarters of the
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty
to Animals
1t has a higher office than either of
these In its way it is unique. Here
the canine, suffering from mango, hy-
drophobia or the effects of unfortunate
experiences with trolley cars, may come
for relief. The poor outcast cur of
tradition no longer exists in the vicinity
of the institution, for it is a dog hos
pital, the only one in the country
The institution is managed on pre-
cisely the same lines as a hospital for
human beings. A regular corps of ply
siciaps is in attendance. There is an
out-patient department, a contagious
disease department, an insane ward, an
operating room, in which operations are
performed daily, bathroom, a dispen-
sary-in short, everything which OBJ
tains in a regularly equipped human
hospital. That the patients should be
confined in cages is a necessary pre-
caution, made so from the very nature
of the inmates; but. aside from this,
the sight of the animals, walking about
in splints or staggering about with st.
Vitus' dance, or swathed in bandages
after painful operation, is very hu-
man-like indeed.
In fact dogs are very like human
beings, in that you can find out more
rl1saV1
i'll than when they are well. The hos
pital physicians know, therefore,
many things about dogs which are un-
known to the dog fancier. One re-
markable fact is that no two dogs are
alike in their capacity to stand various
treatment, even though the animals be
of the same species or of the same fam
lily Thus, in the operating room, the
greatest caution has to be exercised
when the animals are placed under the
influence of anaesthetics. The old say
ing that what is one mans meat is
another mans poison may be said to
apply also to dogs. Some dogs may be
placed under the influence of ether very
readily and suffer no i'll effects. Others
may even be chloroformed for the time
being Then will appear a dog that will
die under half the dose given to his
predecessors. 1t is interesting to watch
an operation for this reason inasmuch
as the doctors become quite as inter-
ested in the rapid heart beats of the
animals as they would those of human
beings. This, and the fact that no
vivisections are allowed in the institu-
tion give the latter very interesting
character indeed In fact, no operation
is performed unless the surgeons are
pretty sure that the dog will suffer lit
tie or no pain.
The operating table is an affair on
wheels much like that used in a regular
hospital. The top is made of zinc and is
slightly depressed in the middle, SO
that any moisture may drain through
small holes which connect with pan
beneath it, A dog is placed upon the
table, and linen bandage is first wrap
around his mouth, so that he may give
no voice to displeasure at his awkward
position He is then placed upon his
back or side, as the case may be, and
straps connecting with rings in the side
of the table are placed around his legs.
He is then at the mercy of the sur
geOnS; but that mercy is tender
enough for if the animal is to be cut
in any manner the parts are always
sprayed with cocaine or some other
pain-quieting anaesthetic. The utmost
cleanliness is also observed, for the
microbe theory of disease applies to
the lower animals as well as to human
beings Water is, therefore, led in
through long rubber pipes, reaching
from the ceilings, and thus convent
emily it can be sprayed upon the in
jured parts of the poor canine. 1t is
really pathetic to see the tenderness
with which the animals are treated,
and the mutely grateful air with which
the poor brutes regard the men who
thus painlessly remove the cause of
their agony.
This matter of cleanliness is one of
the remarkable features of the institu-
ton The bathroom is quite an elab-
crate affair, and is arranged in the
same manner as the bathroom of an
ordinary dwelling. The 1lb, which is of
the shape usually seen in bathrooms. is
made of enameled iron, and is sup
piled with hot and cold running water
One would hardly suppose to look at
the oak wainscoting and the tiled floors
that dogs were the only occupants OF
the room. Such is the case. however,
and with few exceptions most of the
animals are compelled to take daily
din. OF course this is often rendered
impracticable from the nature of GER
tain diseases with which some animals
suffer. Whenever there is any chance
of contagion being spread about by the
bath. then the animals are either held
aloof or. as in the case of those suf-
fering with mango, allowed to battle
only in a special tub set apart for the
purpose in another part of the build
ing.
The question Of contagion is a very
serious one in the hospital. Dogs are
not to be cautioned like human beings
70 observe certain rules Therefore If
they possess any disease which might
be transmitted they have to be entire
lv isolated from their fellows. Mango
which is a very contagious disease. is
confined to one ward SO virulent is
this disease that some dogs suffering
from mango and placed in cages at one
side Of the room transmitted it clear
across the apartment to some guinea
nies which were confined in cages al
least twenty feet distant. There was
nothing to cause contact between these
animals exeept the intervening air
Nothing which had been touched by
one animal was allowed to be touched
by the others. But the poor pigs were
in a pitiable condition.
The insane ward is occu9ied by dogs
suffering from hydrophobia. 1t Is
really a large cage situated outside o.
the building, near the entrance poren
Many persons may wonder how II Is
that animals suffering from this dreac
,,aaladv should come to be sent TO tht