ANIMAL HOSPITAL

Dominion, Volume 23, Issue 85, 4 January 1930, Page 4

ANIMAL HOSPITAL

RELIEF OF SUFFERING

WORK IN AUCKLAND

Where do pets go when the family is away from home for Christinas I The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals’ hospital at New Lynn lias supplied the answer in respect of a number of Auckland cats anti dogs, and one rabbit. This 1 Blue Cross institution (says the “Herald”) not only cares for the sick and maimed, but is also a kind of boarding house for animals. Very often the two functions are combined In' an' individual case, when it pet is left during the owner’s absence from home with a request that it should be “given an overhaul” to. make sure of its going back in the best of health. Like the city hotels and boardinghouses, .the Blue Cross hospital is suffering from a congestion of holiday visitors. Sixty-five animals are in residence, compared with 18 or ‘2O at normal times. About one-third of them are under treatment for injuries or ailments. The others are just "spending Christmas and New Year,” and their possession of the true holiday .spirit is evidenced by the canine voices which drift down the breeze to greet the approaching visitor. This institution, built by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and conducted by Mr. H. W. Carbury, M.R.G.V.S., was opened in December, 1028, and 500 animals have been inmates during the little more than a year of its existence. Like a Dog Show. Next to the operating theatre in the neat brick building which accommodates the animals is'the nucleus of a dog show. A splendid Alsatian is at one end and ti pert little Pomeranian at the other of a wide variety of breeds. Clean and well-groomed, they look perfectly contented in their cages. Exercise is provided in an adjoining yard, care being taken that only congenial spirits are let loose at the one time. Dogs and cats form the majority of the patients at the hospital, and operations have to be performed frequently. Chloroform is usually administered, but in some cases the animal is given a narcotic to make it unconscious and a. local anaesthetic is used at the seat 'of the operation. Learning to walk on three legs is a dog which had (he right hind leg amputated at the hip. Traffic accidents take a heavy toll of canine life, but the Blue Cross hospital enables many dogs which have been run over by cars to be put on their feet again. Among the. present eases in this class is an Airedale, which had two legs broken and is making a good recovery. Care of the Teeth. Toy dogs frequently suffer with their teeth', according to the experience of

Mr. Carbury. A big percentage of those admitted to the hospital need to have their teeth cleaned or extracted. Pyorrhea is common among toy dogs. Extraction of the teeth usually gives them a new lease of life. The bigger dogs, which chew bones and generally make more use,of their teeth in the way nature intended, do not have the same' trouble. “Cleaning the teeth of a little dog, weighing, perhaps, 31b., gives you all the tine work you want,” Mr. Carbury remarked. It is a fact not generally realised that, while many medicines and drugs have a similar effect on human beings and dogs, they may react in quite a different way on cats. Morphia, for instance, will put a man or a dog to sleep, and send a cat mad. Mr. Carbury mentioned this as showing the need of expert diagnosis of and prescription for the ailments of animal pets. “More dogs are killed through giving them incorrect medicine than by leaving them alone when sick,” he said, “My experience is that if a dog is ill, the more nursing and the less medicine it gets the better. A sick dog should always be put to bed. By that I mean put him up to the neck in hay. This treatment can never be injurious.” A Remarkable Wure. The most remarkable cure effected at the Blue Cross hospital was that of a dog which was run over by a 21ton roller. The owner expected that the animal would be crushed to pulp, for the roller had passed completely over it,'but as it showed marked signs of vitality he took it to the hospital. Examination showed that no bones had been broken, and after a period of treatment the dog made a complete recovery from the terrible bruising 'it had received and certain internal effects.

Restrictions have been placed on visiting at the hospital, because of the disturbing effect, on the dogs particularly. of the sight- of numerous strangers. Saturday is the visiting day, from 1 to 5 p.m., anil the hospital is closed on Sundays, except for the admission of accident cases. In regard to these the institution is performing a useful service in the relief of animal suffering, supplementing the activities of the veterinary surgeons.