Jemma, female Spaniel with
autoimmune haemolytic anaemia

Jemma, an eight-year-old female Spaniel, was first presented in March 2009 with severe hepatitis, anaemia, yellow urine and anorexia.

She had been losing weight continuously for three days. The owner thought she had been bitten by a snake while she was away for two days and Jemma was being cared for by the family. Blood tests showed autoimmune haemolytic anaemia (AIHA) and inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis).

Jemma is a dog who barks excessively and is very skittish; she barks at children from the car and defends the property when the postman comes. She attacks suddenly and is very jealous. She will even try to bite her owner if someone attempts to take something from her or approaches her feeding bowl; she bites other dogs, for example when there is a bottleneck at the door, and any veterinarian who is tentative will be bitten by her—very hard, with bleeding.

Despite her otherwise territorial behaviour, Jemma loves being stroked and seems rather shy in our practice. She loves the rain and takes her food outside to eat in the rain. She never lies in the sun. She hates birds and chases them in the garden.

Follow-ups:
Her condition improved slowly over a period of ten days and she began to eat and drink again.
Two weeks after the first blood transfusion, however, all the symptoms returned: the liver felt enlarged, she was febrile (39.2°C) and panting. Her head felt hot and she would not eat. An ultrasound examination showed an abnormally enlarged liver and the specialist again diagnosed AIHA. She received another blood transfusion; I administered Crotalus horridus C 30 once more and then started Phosphorus LM1 daily.
Two weeks later the same symptoms recurred. She received a third blood transfusion and this time I prescribed Crotalus horridus C 6, three times daily. Phosphorus was discontinued. Her condition improved steadily over five days and the jaundice and anaemia disappeared. At this point I changed the potency to Crotalus horridus C 200, one dose every other day. Finally the dosing frequency was reduced to once a week, then once every two weeks and eventually the remedy was stopped altogether.

Analysis:
I struggled in this case with the choice between Phosphorus and Crotalus horridus. She was so different in my consultation, always sweet and compliant. While ill she was very sick, so at first none of our staff observed any “snake” behaviour. Jemma lives with the family grandmother, who is very ill and frail, and she is very loyal to her. My repertorisation was full of jaundice and anaemia, concern for her family, delusions of abandonment and black urine. The main reason for choosing Crotalus horridus was ultimately the rubric haemolytic anaemia, which contains only two remedies: Crotalus horridus and Hirudo medicinalis. AIHA was the current disease; the deeper cause might be the delusion of having been abandoned.

When reviewing the homeopathic case history it might seem hasty to switch to Phosphorus. The slow initial recovery and the panic feeling during that phase led me to this approach. When a blood transfusion is given at the same time, it is easy to believe the remedy has helped, although in reality it was a response to the transfusion.

Mangialavori writes: “Of the socially adapted snakes Crotalus horridus is the most social. It can closely resemble Phosphorus. It is very sympathetic. The rattlesnake usually submits to a stronger personality. They experience the family as an unavoidable duty. The persecutory delusion arises from the idea that they are obliged to behave socially and maintain family contacts.”

Henri Stephenson has a small veterinary practice on the Sunshine Coast of Australia.

©Jens Bredehorn/PIXELIO