Squibb Horse

A Percheron horse who has had a mild case of diphtheria for almost nine years wore a garland of flowers around his neck for a party last week. He was 14-year-old Doc Dobbin, oldest diphtheria antitoxin horse in the laboratories of E. R. Squibb & Sons at New Brunswick, N. J. Because Doc Dobbin has produced antitoxin enough to treat 30,000 children, Dr. John F. Anderson, Squibb vice president, gave a birthday party on the anniversary of Doc Dobbin's ninth year of service. One hundred school children from Highland Park, N. J. attended. The birthday table was placed on the laboratory lawn, held on it a white cake with nine candles and nine big red apples. While the children sang "Happy Birthday to You" and shouted "Many happy returns," Doc Dobbin bobbed his head, ate all the apples, gobbled the whole cake in three Gargantuan bites.

Then Dr. Anderson explained what Doc Dobbin had done to deserve the party. When he was five years old a dose of diphtheria germs was injected into Doc Dobbin's flank. Within a day, he felt sick. A week later when he had recovered he was given another dose. After the third injection, each succeeding dose was increased. At the end of three months, Doc Dobbin could stand ten times as much diphtheria poison as he had first received. He had formed substances in his blood to fight the germs. Laboratory men withdrew blood from Doc Dobbin's neck. They stored it in sterile glass cylinders, allowed the valuable antibody serum to separate from the rest of the blood. After three days the serum was siphoned of, stored in a refrigerator ready for use. Antitoxin horses are bled once a month, are permitted to rest, feed well between times. No matter how old they become, they are useful for antitoxin so long as they are healthy.

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