E. Nettleship to K. Pearson, 5th Sept. 1912.- External URL
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Sent From (Definite): Edward NettleshipSent To (Definite): Karl PearsonDate: 5 Sep 1912
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Holder (Definite): University College London: Special Collections
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Sent fromEdward Nettleship
5 Sep 1912
Description:
‘...
Of Jill’s litter of 4 only 1 (♀) survives; 1 (♂) died at birth or almost; looked quite normal & was big:
1 (♀) a day or two after birth; this one was rather small.
1 (♀), decidedly a small one, lived about 3 wks. Thinking the big one bullied & prevented it from sucking we tried leaving the little one alone with mother for part of each day, but after the first 2 or 3 days it seemed no better. Then our cook took it indoors & fed with bottle, keeping the creature warm in cotton wool & a hot bottle, & adding raw meat juice & drops of brandy & lactol. For some days we thought it would do; then got weaker & more than once fainted & seemed dead but revived. Then it died, in the night. It used to blush a rather dusky blush, in the face, at times. Even when alone with mother I don’t think it sucked much & one could not tell why.
I examined it as carefully as I could, more so than any before, & am almost certain it had a patent foramen ovale (=, as you no doubt know, imperfect formation of the septum between R & L. auricles of heart) – “almost” certain, i.e. I don’t think I made the opening by poking about, although as the whole specimen was very small & frail, compared with the human hearts one used to deal with, I do not feel absolutely sure.
Such a congenital heart defect would explain the difficulty in sucking which was the real cause of the marasmus & failure to live. If I am right about this heart I expect a similar imperfection may have accounted for several puppy deaths at about the same age & in same sort of way in previous litters, & probably in other peoples’ litters too.
Probably the vets are quite familiar with it in the highly bred breeds?
How does your kennel scheme progress? I hope well. That is I hope it will materialize unless it will have the effect of diverting funds from the Treasury. Other people may possibly be able to take up breeding, but no-one else is in a position to continue the Treasury, & there will be a definite misfortune if it dies.
In one letter you asked something meaning would I (EN) think you invading my preserve if you took to this breeding scheme? – Good gracious no of course not. Even if I were going to continue it or do it on a better scale there would be ample room for both. But in fact all I shall do is perhaps to take another litter or two out of Jill, partly to lessen the trouble of the “heat,” but mainly to keep one or two in reserve in case anything happened to Jack or Jill, merely from the “pet” or “house-dog” point of view. We have all got to like them & should feel rather lost if they disappeared.
...
How are your puppies? – You will probably have kept skins if any have died.
Yrs v. sincerely,
E. Nettleship.’
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Sent toKarl Pearson
5 Sep 1912
Description:
‘...
Of Jill’s litter of 4 only 1 (♀) survives; 1 (♂) died at birth or almost; looked quite normal & was big:
1 (♀) a day or two after birth; this one was rather small.
1 (♀), decidedly a small one, lived about 3 wks. Thinking the big one bullied & prevented it from sucking we tried leaving the little one alone with mother for part of each day, but after the first 2 or 3 days it seemed no better. Then our cook took it indoors & fed with bottle, keeping the creature warm in cotton wool & a hot bottle, & adding raw meat juice & drops of brandy & lactol. For some days we thought it would do; then got weaker & more than once fainted & seemed dead but revived. Then it died, in the night. It used to blush a rather dusky blush, in the face, at times. Even when alone with mother I don’t think it sucked much & one could not tell why.
I examined it as carefully as I could, more so than any before, & am almost certain it had a patent foramen ovale (=, as you no doubt know, imperfect formation of the septum between R & L. auricles of heart) – “almost” certain, i.e. I don’t think I made the opening by poking about, although as the whole specimen was very small & frail, compared with the human hearts one used to deal with, I do not feel absolutely sure.
Such a congenital heart defect would explain the difficulty in sucking which was the real cause of the marasmus & failure to live. If I am right about this heart I expect a similar imperfection may have accounted for several puppy deaths at about the same age & in same sort of way in previous litters, & probably in other peoples’ litters too.
Probably the vets are quite familiar with it in the highly bred breeds?
How does your kennel scheme progress? I hope well. That is I hope it will materialize unless it will have the effect of diverting funds from the Treasury. Other people may possibly be able to take up breeding, but no-one else is in a position to continue the Treasury, & there will be a definite misfortune if it dies.
In one letter you asked something meaning would I (EN) think you invading my preserve if you took to this breeding scheme? – Good gracious no of course not. Even if I were going to continue it or do it on a better scale there would be ample room for both. But in fact all I shall do is perhaps to take another litter or two out of Jill, partly to lessen the trouble of the “heat,” but mainly to keep one or two in reserve in case anything happened to Jack or Jill, merely from the “pet” or “house-dog” point of view. We have all got to like them & should feel rather lost if they disappeared.
...
How are your puppies? – You will probably have kept skins if any have died.
Yrs v. sincerely,
E. Nettleship.’
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