The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-06-11
ACCIDENTS TO ANIMALS.
What Can Be Done Before the veter-
mary Surgeon Arrives.

mary Surgeon Arrives.
It has been estimated that over so per
cent Of the deaths which occur among I
domestic animals-among horses, dogs I
and cats-are due to the treatment that /
these animals receive in the interval be- I
tween their falling i'll and the veteri- /
nary surgeons arrival
When a pet animal is taken sick or |
when it meets with an accident the first !
thing most people do is to send for a
veterinary surgeon But his arrival is |
never immediate, there is always a wait, |
and on the treatment accorded to the
animal during this wait its recovery or
death often depends.
In general people do not know how TO
treat sick or injured animals Over half
of those they try to treat are killed
There are some simple rules that, il fol-
lowed, will do much to terminate the
wholesale and Involuntary slaughter by
the public of its animal friends. These
rules were obtained at the Maher mi
NAL hospital, of Philadelphia, an insti-
tuition for the care of horses. dogs and
cats, and come from one of the most
expert veterinary surgeons OF America,
and they may, therefore, be taken as
Dogs frequently choke. A bone.
nail or a piece of tin gets in the throat
and there is great danger of death be-
fore the arrival OF the surgeon. Many
of them do die. but there is no reason
for this, for it IS easy, without the
/ slightest danger of being bitten to put
the hand in the mouth of the dog and
to draw out or push down the obstruct-
4 ion that is choking it. A bandage-a
! handkerchief or towel will dds passed
between the teeth and over the upper
/ jaw. and in a similar way another ban
dage is passed between the teeth
and over the under jaw. One person,
holding the end of these two bandages.
keeps the dogs mouth wide opens
second person can then. with perfect
ease and S1fafV mt his fingers down
the animals throat and relieve it.
Cats and small dogs often break their
| legs. It is wise. in such accidents, to
hold them in ones arms. perfectly still.
for otherwise they are likely to hop
about and to cause the edges of the
1 broken bones to tear adjacent muscles.
It is possible to hold cat or dog with
/ a broken limb IN such manner that
the limb will not be moved until the
surgeons arrival While the animal it
self will not be able to either scratch
or bite. To do this it is necessary to
support the animal and with the right
hand TO hold the hind limbs. while the
fingers of the left hand must hold the
front limbs and the back of the left
hand must press back the animals
head But the broken leg must hang
Iree Held SO, cat or dog can neither
move nor bite nor scratch.
Cats and dogs are frequently poisoned
Emetlcs should Immediately be admin
lstered in such cases. Salt and water or
mustard and water are excellent enc
ties.
Horses have a hundred. ills and troa-
| bles for which much can be done in the
/ interval between the attack and the
veterinary surgeon coming. Horses fire.
quently stagger and drop, overcome by
apoplexy. 1t is well to bleed them then.
The layman can bleed a horse safely by
making an incision in the side of the
tail. About two quarts of blood should
be taken out. when the hemorrhag sc
should be stopped by the application of
a clean bandage.
Azoturia, or paralysis, shows itself
first in heavy horse in a heavy sweat
around the face and neck and d stag
gering gait. a horse with these symp-
toms should be forced 10 lie down at
once. He should not be suffered to move
Q step; blanket should be laid over his
loins and an ambulance. should be sent
for. Treated thus paralyzed horse
has good chance of recovery; but if he
is urged onward after the appearance
of the first symptoms-if an attempt is
made to get him home to the stable
the chance is that he will die
Broken knee can be cured if the horse
is not walked. Broken knee is d lacera-
ton accompanied by a breaking of the
sac of joint fluid: it can be told by the
oozing forth Of this yellowish fluid. If
the knee is washed free of dirt and
gravel with clean absorbent cotton
never a dirty sponge or a dirty rag
| and if the horse is kept quite still till
the surgeons arrival it will recover
fully
Burns and scaIds upon animals should
| not be washed. They should be protected
from the air from water and from lrri-
tants. Excellent to use upon them are lin
! seed oil and lime water or q saturated So
luton of picric acid. or fuiler's earth.
When a horse is choking to death the
laynsan can by the performance Of tracne-
otonly, save its life. The choking is due 10
the fact that the obstruction is across the
clean, sharp knife. an incision two inches
long in the middle of the throat at the
end OF the neck's first third This ineision
which Will cut no blood vessels, Will open
up the windpipe, and if the fingers are Put
in the cut to hold its lips apart the horse
Will breathe freely and comfortably till the
surgeons arrival
pnbIic has the han Of administering lauti-
anum for collie, and thus it kills many
horses Laudanum aggravates certain
forms of collie. The veterinary surgeon
should be summoned quickly; meanwhile
nothing can be done.
The humps. or hiecoughs, may be re-
1ieved by d dose of whisky and pepper
mint. The dose should be two ounces. OF
whisky and a teaspOonful of peppermint
administered in water.
Epistaxia, or hemorrhage from the nos
trils. is common. 1t is always from one
nostril. That nostru should be plugged
with cotton and the head of the horst
should be kept elevated. But both nostrils
should never be plugged. for many horses
mouths. 4 feundered horse should have
hot Concentrations applied to his feet.
a hemarrfage that IS due 70 accident
SnGU4U De StQPEGQ Will a tOuIllA4hC- =
towel or a handkerchief or a rope serves
very well for this. The handage should be
knotted around the injured part above the
! cut, If the bleeding is from an artery be
low if it is from vein) and a stick
should be inserted between the bandags
and the limb and twisted until the bleed
ing stops.
For blind staggers two quarts of blood
should be drawn from the side Of the tail
Foreign bodies-splinters, etc.-should al
ways be removed Immediately They
should never be permitted to slough out.
Many horsemen say. .sOh. leave that spin.
ter alone; it will slough out in time. Eol
they are not aware that nearly every ease
of tetanus. or Iockjaw. is due to the fol-
lowing of just that adviee-New Yorl
Tribune.