332 dogs: their management. 



under wliicli the creature is temporarily placed. During 

 the flowing of the urine, the dog invariahlj remains per- 

 fectly quiet ; and the relief afforded seems to dispose it 

 almost to sleep ; for after it is over, the animal lies in a 

 kind of happy lethargy. The fluid, however, does not 

 jet forth or empty quickly. The operator must not he 

 impatient, for the stream is perfectly passive ; since, in 

 consequence of the distension, the hladder has lost its 

 contractive power. To obtain the whole of the contents, 

 has sometimes required a quarter of an hour, and the 

 quantity procured has frequently been quite dispropor- 

 tioned to the size of the patient. From a small petted 

 spaniel, brought under my notice by my friend, Mr. 

 Henderson, I extracted very nearly half a pint of urine, 

 and the animal from that period began to get well. From 

 a very small dog, the property of a lady of fortune, I for 

 several days, every night and morning, withdrew about 

 four ounces of the excretion with marked benefit to the 

 animal. The operation is tedious, but it repays us for 

 the time it occupies. Towards the conclusion the stream 

 is frequently interrupted. It stops, then recommences ; 

 ceases, and then begins again; and the last portions- are 

 often ejected with a force which the first did not display. 

 A little straining may attend the closing of the operation. 

 For this the operator must be prepared, and immediately 

 withdraw the catheter; lest the bladder, energetically 

 contracting upon it, should cause the point to pierce the 

 sides of the viscus. The instrument is no longer required 

 when straining is excited ; for then the contractive func- 



