This book review is reprinted from the British Homoeopathic Journal Volume 74, Number 1, January 1985, with permission from Peter Fisher, Editor.
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The Homoeopathic Treatment of Small Animals.
Principles and Practice.
By Christopher Day, MA, VETMB, MRCVS.
London: Wigmore Publications Limited 1984.
Pp. XIII + 153.
6.50 pounds (6.95 pounds to incl. p & p. from the publishers, at 19a Cavendish Square, London WIM 9AD.)
[Editor's note: As of August 1996 Minimum Price Books' price is $17.41]

This is a book that is eminently suitable for veterinary surgeons and breeders but also has a lot to offer the ordinary pet owner. In addition Christopher Day's book could well suit members of allied professions, such as dentists, chiropodists, nurses, both human and veterinary, and also members of the medical profession itself, who wish to get a sound beginning in the basic principles of this fascinating subject.

From Hahnemann's treatment of typhus in Napoleon's retreating army in the opening chapter to the veterinary surgeon's and home starter list of first remedies on page 146, Mr Day has the ability to hold the reader's attention. In fact not only to hold our attention, but to take us with him, painstakingly and logically step by step, through his subject.

I like the analogy on page 10 between bomoeopathy and judo, both gentle but at the same time very powerful arts in the right hands.

Chapter 2 - When to call the Vet - is set out both clearly and concisely. Diagnosis is even more important when the patient cannot speak for itself. The similarity between the problems set by a young child for its parents and the doctor and likewise those of the pet for its owner and the veterinary surgeon is well established.

The relationship of homoeopathy to conventional medicine and diagnosis is further elaborated in Chapter 15 and is most noteworthy. The two main aspects of Christopher Day's book-the principles and practice-are clearly set out on page 20. In fact Chapters 1-7 are so well thought out, and written with such clarity and logic, that they are a lesson to us all, professional man or layman alike. Accurate history-taking is the essence of all medicine, but is particularly important with homoeopathy, and this point is well stressed and could form a good exercise for the pet owner too.

This is a difficult book to review in that in its 153 pages it contains so much of interest. I like Mr. Day's concept of potency, and his knowledge of materia medica is profound, and the number of remedies with which he is obviously familiar is indeed impressive. In Chapter 8 we come to the symptoms of disease with some recommended treatments and it is at this point that we realize that the book is seriously intended for the thinking person, who is prepared to go into great detail in trying to select the correct remedy. For instance there are no less than 21 possible remedies for the treatment of conjunctivitis, according to the presenting symptoms.

Dog and cat breeders will be particularly interested in the comprehensive and valuable section on conditions and problems with the female sexual system.

Case histories can easily become too anecdotal to be of much value to others, but in Chapter 16 Christopher Day manages to make his cases both absorbing and instructive. The candid way in which they are presented is refreshing, and the logical way in which they are set out makes them easily understood.

This book has a lot to offer and gives us a new veterinary book to complement those of George Macleod. I recommend this book wholeheartedly to all in the veterinary profession, and other professions allied to medicine, who wish to take a serious and critical interest in homoeopathy.

FRANCIS HUNTER, MRCVS

The British Homoeopathic Journal
Volume 74, Number 1, January 1985