DISEASES. 91 



NOSTOMANIA (Home Sickness). This is often seen in dogs which, from 

 some cause or other, have to leave their home and friends, and reside for a time 

 in a hospital. It therefore behooves every one who has charge of such dogs to 

 make them comfortable, and treat them as nearly as possible, consistent with 

 rational and medical treatment, as they would be at home. It is absolutely 

 cruel to place a nervous and highly sensitive pet dog in a kennel surrounded 

 by other dogs which are continually barking, or to give them over entirely to 

 an attendant, which is too frequently done in hospitals, the owner of the estab 

 lishment, or the veterinary surgeon, only attending at intervals. All pets should 

 be taken into the house, or have a special place set apart for them, where they 

 can receive personal attention and have their small comforts attended to. 



Very much the best plan is to not send your pet to any veterinary hospital, 

 but to keep it home where it will much better endure the ordeal it may have to 

 go through, and have the surgeon come there to treat it. 



The dog will be happier in his own home where it will receive, aside from 

 the treatment of the doctor, the kind care and attention it could not get in a 

 strange place, among strangers and strange surroundings. 



OBESiTY. See FATNESS, EXCESSI\'E. 



OSTITIS (INFLAMMATION or THE BONE). This is generally due to violence 

 blows, or to constitutional disturbance, like rheumatism or scrofula Symptoms 

 are pain, heat and swelling of the skin at the affected part, also lameness. Very 

 essential in such cases is rest, combined with hot fomentations to the part and 

 a dose of aperient medicine; when due to rheumatism, the systemic treatment 

 recommended under KHET IMATISM should be adopted; and should there be ah 

 enlargement left after the acute inflammation has subsided, the part should be 

 painted daily with tincture of iodine, unless soreness is produced, when this 

 treatment should cease for a day or two. 



OZOENA. -This complaint shows itself by a discharge from both nostrils. 

 The causes are diseased teeth, protracted catarrh, causing chronic inflammation 

 of the lining membrane of the ncse, polypi, or inflammation of the sinuses of 

 the nose, due to the presence of foreign matter in that organ. Where the disease 

 is. due to decayed teeth, the latter should be extracted; or to polypi, these should 

 be removed. The nostrils should be syringed night and morning, with a satu- 

 rated solution of boracic acid; or the tincture of hydrastis is often useful 1 part 

 of tincture to equal parts of water. Exercise and fresh air are very necessary 

 to recovery. 



POISONING. A dastardly act is to poison a dog, and no punishment is too 

 severe to inflict on the cowardly cur who does it. If I could have my way about 

 it, the cur that poisons a dog would hang by the neck till he was dead, a proper 

 punishment, properly fitting the crime. If you are so unfortunate as to have 

 your dog poisoned, keep your eye open on your neighbors who perhaps are 

 unfortunately such degenerates that they do not like dogs. Bide your time, but 

 never give up trying to land the cur who poisoned your dog, and then, if you 

 can not have positive proof enough to punish him or her legally, try some other 

 plan quietly, and rie-er give up until you have in some way punished the one 

 who killed your dog. 



It may be of service to some readers to briefly refer to a few of the com- 

 moner aiiu more popularly known poisons from which our dogs are most likely 

 to suffer; and I think the following will cover the majority of cases: Arsenic, 

 cantharides, carbolic acid, corrosive sublimate, phosphorous and strychnine. 



