A few months ago a house dog belonging to one of my patients became so severely constipated that the case defied the best efforts of a local veterinary and he diagnosed obstruction. In their dilemma the family hesitatingly appealed to me, not knowing just how I would take the matter. It took but four or five doses of Nux vomica 180m to cure the little fellow completely. A few weeks ago he, by some means or other infected one of his feet and in spite of much licking, after the manner of dogs, the infection spread to the other paw as well as his mouth. All three situations not only suppurated freely but it was characteristic of the pus that it destroyed the hair wherever it went.
I now began to fear that my former success would only be the means of causing a therapeutic failure because of my ignorance of the diseases of animals. However, I knew just where to find this very symptom which read as follows: “Pus destroying the hair: Lycopodium Mercurius Rhus.” After the first dose of Rhus 1m he went into a heavy sleep which lasted all day, but he was better the next and in three days was practically well; the suppurating places having almost completely healed over. I would respectfully refer the results of this case to Dr. Chas. H. Duncan who, taking the way of the dog as an example, details “The Cure of Sepsis” by doses of its own pus in the May number of the Homoeopathic Recorder.
DISCUSSION
A. P. Bowie: There is a veterinary surgeon in my town who is a thorough convert to Homoeopathy. He is very anxious to take a veterinary course of medicine in a homoeopathic college. ‘A few days ago as I was passing his hospital, he called me in to see a sick dog. The symptoms were great sensitiveness about the anus. It was evidently painful, for the dog was almost in spasms. Muriatic add cured very rapidly.
R. F. Rabe: Nothing is more convincing to me of the power of the homoeopathic remedy than its effect upon the dumb animals. Some of the most convincing cures upon animals have been reported by Dr. Hundahl. I recall a young brewery horse that came down with rheumatism in the chest muscles; Rhus cured. An Irish setter vomited food without change; Kreosote promptly cured. My own horse, a pretty old one, got the heaves; the heart action was violent; Digitalis 100 cured and there was no return. I should like to see a chair of veterinary homoeopathy in our colleges.
W. H. Morgan: My horse became very sick with very red, watery eyes; he seemed to be in great pain. There was swelling under the legs. He stood with the legs wide apart. There were plenty of fellows about the livery stable who knew all about it and I was introduced to a veterinary. I preferred to take my chances in treating him myself. I found his mouth watery and tongue coated. I gave Mercury 200 three times that day and in the evening the horse was looking around for something to eat. I drove him out on the second day.
C. M. Boger: It would not do our colleges any harm to have a veterinary chair. I think it was a loss for them to cut out the dental chair. It is very convincing to see animals cured. There is no imagination in the dog. I cured a flock of chickens of chicken cholera without going out of the house.
President: My own horse used to have violent attacks of colic; the first time I called in a veterinary doctor, but the results were unsatisfactory. I then watched the case myself; he would get down and lay on his back with his four feet going and spinning around; there was marked sweating. Colocynth cured him.
Dr. Roberts: My old instructor, Dr. T. F. Allen, was in favour of establishing a chair of veterinary therapeutics in the college. I am not averse to relieving the suffering of dumb animals and it has usually been very easy. The horse is extremely sensitive to medicine, more so than any other anima1 that I know of. I saw a horse suffering with extreme colic once on the street as I was going by. I gave Colocynth with rapid improvement. It happened to belong to a prominent firm and I got several families from the incident.
Born in Western Pennsylvania, he graduated from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and subsequently Hahnemann Medical College of Philadelphia. He moved to Parkersburg, W. Va., in 1888, practicing there, but also consulting worldwide. He gave lectures at the Pulte Medical College in Cincinnati and taught philosophy, materia medica, and repertory at the American Foundation for Homoeopathy Postgraduate School. Boger brought BÅ“nninghausen's Characteristics and Repertory into the English Language in 1905. His publications include :
Boenninghausen's Characteristics and Repertory
Boenninghausen's Antipsorics
Boger's Diphtheria, (The Homoeopathic Therapeutics of)
A Synoptic Key of the Materia Medica, 1915
General Analysis with Card Index, 1931
Samarskite-A Proving
The Times Which Characterize the Appearance and Aggravation of the Symptoms and their Remedies