No matter what advice may be given, he is to
do nothing but get the animal home as quickly as possible. He is neither
to lance the mouth, slit the ear, nor cut a piece of the tail off. He is
on no account to administer a full dose of salt and water, a lump of
tobacco, or to throw the animal into an adjacent pond; and of all things
he is to allow no man more acquainted with dogs than the other spectators
to bleed the creature. Any offer to rub the nose with syrup of buckthorn,
however confidently he who makes the proposal may recommend that energetic
mode of treatment, is to be unhesitatingly declined. The friendly desire
of any one who may express his willingness to ram a secret and choice
specific down the prostrate animal's throat, must be refused with
firmness. The attendant must however take advantage of the time the dog is
on the ground to pass a handkerchief round the neck or through the collar.
This done, he must wait patiently till the dog gets upon its legs, when he
must, amidst its struggles to be free, caress it and call it kindly by its
name. That part of the business over, he must take the creature in his
arms, and seeking the nearest cab-stand, carry the poor animal with all
expedition homeward.

I have known a dog to have a succession of fits which lasted more than an
hour; and yet this creature, by the treatment I shall presently describe,
was the next day upon its legs, and to all appearance as well as ever.

The dog being brought home, if the fit continues, give nothing by the
mouth; because the animal being insensible cannot swallow; and the
breathing being laborious, anything administered is more likely to be
drawn on to the lungs, and so to suffocate the creature, than to pass into
the stomach, and thus (if it have any curative properties) effect a
restoration. On this account the very best physic ever invented would be
dangerous, and should be withheld. Enemas are the only things in these
cases to be depended upon; and the best the author is at present
acquainted with, is made of 1, 2, or 3 drachms of sulphuric aether, and 2,
4, or 6 scruples of laudanum to 11/2, 3, or 41/2 ounces of the very coldest
spring water that can be obtained. The above injection having been
administered, the dog is left entirely by itself, and, as far as possible,
in absolute silence for an hour; at the expiration of which time, in
whatever state the animal may be in, another dose is given in the same
manner as before.