194 
REPORTS OF CASES. 
Allegheny Co., Pa. It was an action to recover two hundred 
dollars damages for the death of a standard bred and regis¬ 
tered mare which died while anesthetized for neurotomy. 
Attorney T. M. Marshall, Jr., represented the plaintiff, who 
appeared with a civil engineer and two grooms as witnesses 
who were present at the operation. Chas. A. Spicer, V.S., 
and Jas. A. Waugh, V.S., gave expert testimony in behalf of 
the plaintiff. Attorney T. T. Donahue appeared for the de¬ 
fense, and H. F. Doris, D.V.S., J. C. McNeil, V.M.D., J. A. 
Holden, V.S., and R. H. Gilliford, M.D., testified ; also the 
defendants and a few other witnesses. The evidence adduced 
was somewhat contradictory, but proved that hobbles were 
placed on the mare’s feet, chloroform administered on a sponge 
in a cloth shirt-sleeve tied at one end and drawn tightly over 
the nose, and the hobble rope was drawn and the animal cast 
and secured in a box-stall as soon as the anesthetic caused ex¬ 
citement. There were no air-holes in this improvised nose-bag. 
Eight ounces of chloroform was used, and one side of one 
front limb was neurotomized; then the owner became 
alarmed and asserted the patient was dying, but the opera¬ 
tors claimed that they needed more chloroform to complete 
the operation on both fore limbs. Four ounces of chloroform 
was obtained without delay, but was not used, as the oper¬ 
ators realized the mare was dead. Efforts were made to re¬ 
suscitate the subject, but proved of no avail. Veterinarians 
Spicer and Waugh testified that modern methods of local 
anesthesia were, safer and preferable to absolute methods of 
general anesthesia for neurotomy, Drs. Doris, McNeil and 
Gilliford testified that chloroform might be used as an anes¬ 
thetic, but they would not use it in neurotomy. J. A. Holden 
stated that he had thirty years’ experience in veterinary prac¬ 
tice, but had never seen chloroform used in any way, and he 
was not familiar with the action of anesthetics. The defend¬ 
ants claimed that it was proper to use chloroform as an anes¬ 
thetic in neurotomy, and they operated as they had been 
taught by Prof. Smith at Ontario Veterinary College, and 
was approved and practiced by the leading veterinarians in 
all countries. 
