Page 5 - Autumn 21

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about six months old. My first thought at the time was that it must be either a tumor or an abscess. I chose to assume (or hope) it was an abscess, as the easier of the two to treat. I put a few granules of Hepar sulphur 30C in one of the smaller water troughs. Within a few days I saw the same deer with strands of dark tissue hanging from the area where the lump had been. The lump itself was gone.
Seeing a second case so similar to the first, I realized this must be fairly common in deer, and went in search of an explanation. I discovered the syndrome called lumpy jaw. According to a report from the University of Northern British Columbia, it is caused by an infection with the bacteria Actinomyces bovis, normally present in the mouths of healthy wild ungulates. The bacteria invade small wounds in the mouth that may be caused by abrasive feed or tooth eruption. “Once bacterial infection is established, bacterial by-products break down existing bone and promote the growth of new bone; consequently, affected areas of the jaw expand forming lumps or thickened areas of bone, honeycombed with tiny abscesses.... Other than lesions in the mouth, animals may appear healthy but are often thin since jaw lesions may
interfere with the ability to eat.”1,2
Encouraged by my experience with the first case a few years ago, I treated
this recent case similarly, with Hep 30C. This time, though, there were many more deer passing through and drinking from the troughs, including another set of twins and a single fawn. I wanted to target the dosing more precisely to be sure this fawn received his remedy with less chance of treating the rest of the herd. I carved pockets out of a few pieces of apple, in which I placed granules of the homeopathic medicine, then put them out where I
thought the fawn would be likely to eat them. He was very happy to comply.
A few days later the doe brought her twins around again. The lump was gone, and in its place was a dark, round indentation, apparently the remnants of the drained abscess.
Treatment Options
These two cases were fairly straight forward, with a single clear symptom that, fortunately, was suggestive of a small number of homeopathic medicines with a high probability of success. It’s typical that when we attempt to come to the aid of wild neighbors, we have far less information to guide us to a medicine than we do with a companion animal or even an animal in a rehabilitation facility. We may see the animal only occasionally and must base the choice of homeopathic medicine on just a small handful of symptoms — sometimes just one or two. Without capturing the animal, there’s no opportunity for a physical exam, and the ability to gather history or details about other symptoms or habits is extremely limited. The difficulty in administering homeopathic medicines adds another layer of challenge.
In both cases of lumpy jaw, there was essentially a single symptom: the large protrusion on the side of the face. As indicated, when I encountered the first fawn in this condition I made the initial choice to treat the protrusion as an abscess. While there are multiple homeopathic medicines that include abscess among their rubrics, I’ve found the vast majority of cases respond well to either Hepar sulphur or Silicea; with no other symptoms to go on, it made sense to choose one of those. Sil is particularly effective when the abscess is the result of foreign matter embedded in the skin, such as a foxtail or thorn, or at the site of vaccine injection. It’s also indicated when there is a fistulous burrowing in conjunction with the abscess, as with a horse hoof abscess that tends to drain at the
knowledge of homeopathy. To be sure, treating a wild animal in a hospital or rehabilitation center has its own set of challenges. But the limitations we face when we hope to help an animal in his or her natural habitat tax our skill as healers as well as our creativity.
I live in a small cabin high on a hill, surrounded by thousands of acres of open space. I’m routinely visited by ravens, woodpeckers, coyotes, foxes, bobcats, bears, jackrabbits, rattlesnakes, king snakes, lizards, and certainly many individuals I don’t see or haven’t identified. For most of the 19 years I’ve lived there, one particular raven has made himself a daily visitor, often spending an hour or more sitting on a chair on my deck, just the other side of the desk where I work. This past summer a juvenile jackrabbit befriended me, first following me one evening when I was out on a walk, and then frequently coming to sit close by while I relaxed out on my front deck. The deer pass by every day, often in families or with herd mates, to drink from the water troughs I keep out in front. They enjoy spending hot summer afternoons resting under my house.
One particularly hot day my remote camera spotted five bucks all resting under the house at the same time. Another morning a very young fawn, still wobbly on his very young legs, emerged from under the deck with his mom.
This past summer a doe and her twins were regular visitors. One morning I noticed one of the twins had a large lump, about the size of an egg, on the side of his jaw. I had seen a very similar case a few years before, in a young male
Those of us who are fortunate to interact with wildlife in their natural environment have a unique opportunity to support them with our
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