84 
CANINE OESTETRICY. 
can hardly be present. The poor beast had been left too long un- 
assisted for help of any kind to be of much avail. 
Of the pups brought forth by the aid of the crotchet the ma- 
jority were dead ; indeed, though safe to the mother, the instru- 
ment is apt to be fatal to the offspring. The numbers stand thus : — • 
dead when extracted, 7 ; mutilated when brought forth, and im- 
mediately destroyed, 1 ; alive, 1. Thus the proportions are as 8 
to 1 against the probability of saving the pups ; but it must be 
remembered, that the calculation is made from cases of which the 
majority were by previous delay rendered hopeless, and under 
fairer circumstances the result might have been different. 
I will now proceed to describe the crotchet, and explain the 
manner in which I have employed that instrument. It has been 
long known to the human accoucheur, but by him is not employed 
save under certain conditions. A piece of stout steel wire consti- 
tutes its substance. The wire, about twelve inches long, is flatten- 
ed at one extremity, and both ends crooked and made perfectly 
smooth or blunt, the flattened hook being the smaller of the two. 
For the dog, the instrument must, of course, be proportioned to 
the passage through which it is to be introduced, and as the pup, 
in consequence of the weakness of the abdominal parietes in the 
bitch, often is felt lying below the level of the symphysis, a dip 
or lateral bend is given to hooks. 
So simple is the crotchet, which ought to be highly polished, in 
order to secure its being perfectly smooth. It is first warmed and 
greased, then introduced with the index finger of one hand while 
the other guides the instrument into the womb. The foetus is to be 
first felt, and this is the more readily done if an assistant supports 
and compresses the abdomen. When the finger has ascertained 
that the pup is favourably placed, the hook (and I generally use 
the flattened extremity of the instrument) is to be pushed forward 
and then retracted until the operator is aware that a firm hold has 
been obtained. The purchase being secure, the finger is to be 
employed to keep the foetus from escaping by pushing it against or 
towards the point of the crotchet and holding it there. Traction is 
now made steadily and in the proper direction, and the assistant at 
the same time, by manipulating the belly, facilitates the delivery of 
the bitch, which should be in a standing position — not upon its back. 
The directions are not very complex, but they must not on that 
account be disregarded. By introducing the finger, and taking 
care that its extremity correspond with the point of the instrument, 
a great object is gained by securing the pup more firmly : yet there 
are other advantages also obtained by this mode of operating. The 
head of the foetus is generally too large for the vagina, and hence 
the difficulty of its expulsion but by the employment of an instru- 
