Your own dog may be next!

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXIV, Issue 940, 9 December 1933, Page 21 (Supplement)

Your own dog may be next!

Cats, too, can get this dreadful malady

Keep your animals free from worms, and they 11 never get distemper

Last Saturday, among the many callers at Conn s Animal Home were two very worried people with a fox terrier dog that was in abvious pain. They sought Mr Robert Conn’s diagnosis and advice about the dog both had grown to love. The dog’s mistress appeared to be a highly strung woman, so, to avoid what might have been a nauseating experience for her, Mr Conn asked her to return in about an hour. So intent was he to relieve the suffering “ foxy ” that he did not even pause to ask for the name of either her or her husband.

Understanding animals of different temperaments has become second nature to Robert Conn, so he sympathised with the agonised dog and soon won his confidence. Without the slightest fuss a worm pill (a dark, puttylike substance) was administered. It is advisable to mention that as this dog’s owner suspected worms, it had been deliberately starved for twenty-four hours in preparation for such an emergency. The only other person* present besides Mr and Mrs Richards (the permanent attendants at the Home) was Mr W. Odell, partner of the firm of H. Odell and Son, Ltd., printers and stationers, of Hereford Street, Christchurch. Mr Odell also had his dog at the Home for treatment. He had given his collie dog numerous worm powders without avail. Nevertheless all the symptoms were there—sleeplessness, incessant howling, loss of condition and general restlessness. He thought Conn’s treatment might be the remedy, so one of Conn’s worm pills was given to Mr Odell’s, dog; this, too, without the least trouble.

Very soon afterwards the poor suffering fox terrier was being freed from the most horrible worm imaginable. Being ravenously hungry the worm had devoured the pill which was harmless to the dog, and it acted just as was expected. With the modern methods known to veterinary science the worm was taken away. The onlooker. Mr Odell, naturally gasped with astonishment. Never did he imagine that such a parasite could live inside any animal, even a large one. Mr Conn has since stated that it is the largest worm he has ever seen. He estimates that it measures from SO to 100 feet. When the dog’s owners returned an hour or so later, they were delighted to know that the fox terrier’s sufferings had been so soon ended and that he would now be able to regain the condition that is natural for him. Gladly they paid the fee of 7/6 and took the dog away in their car. Mr Conn’s one regret is that he did not ask for the name of the owners, but Mr W. Odell will verify the truth of the foregoing. Sceptical dog lovers can see this identical worm (preserved in a bottle) at Conn’s Grand Pharmacy in High Street. In cidentallv, Mr Odell’s dog is now being cured, and will shortly be quite well again. HE CAN CHARM ANY DOG. Numerous animal owners from all parts of Christchurch and Canterbury are to be heard saying: “I never thought anyone would be able to give MY dog a pill”; “Mr Conn’s a marvel with animals, he seems to charm them”; . . . others say “he mesmerises them!” Only last Thursday a lady said to a chemist in Conn’s Pharmacy, regarding her Spaniel: “I have never known anybody except my husband or I game to go near ‘Snap/ . . . He goes mad at strangers, yet he liked Mr Conn right from the start. ‘Snap’ took his pill just like a child takes a lolly. I tell you I would never have believed it unless I had seen it with my own eyes!” STOP THEIR SUFFERINGS. * If your dog or cat is unduly touchy, irritable, restless, whines apparently without cause, or if he does not sleep soundly or goes off his food, he needs attention from Robert Conn. Mr Conn always says he would rather relieve an animal than a human being because an animal can’t tell you what’s wrong. Bring your dog or cat along and have it examined if you are in the least doubtful about its health. It’s not always necessary to leave it for treatment, as medicine can sometime* be administered while you wait.