DOG AND CAT HOSPITAL
HOUSTON, TEXAS
28 June 2013 (R•082013) (R•032219)
Wow, here is a bottle that just stopped me in my tracks when the images came in from long-time Texas bottle collector Doyle Bailey. I’m talking about the 5 1/4″ tall, cobalt blue, Dog and Cat Hospital bottle from Houston, Texas. With six family dogs and ten in the studio each day, you might say that we are insane dog lovers. We even have a small Calico cat at home that keeps to herself, usually in high places. The dogs love her.
Horning became one of Texas’ first specialists in the diseases and surgery of small animals, and throughout his career stressed the importance of small animals, and particularly dogs, as companions for people
I spent quite a bit of time trying to search out information on this bottle with no such luck as I was trying to figure out the doctors name embossed on the top front of the bottle. Try googling “Dog and Cat Hospital bottle”, and you get a billion, you guessed it, Dog and Cat Hospital listings, even in Houston. It wasn’t until I realized that Doyle had sent me a spread sheet titled “Texas Colored Drug Bottles” containing the hard to read names. There it was, “Drs. Horning and McKee.”
Embossed on one side DRS. HORNING AND McKEE’S DOG AND CAT HOSPITAL, Waugh Drive at Willia. St. AND Cleveland Park, Houston, Texas. Embossed on the second side The Largest And Best Equipped DOG &CAT HOSPITAL In The South, Houston, Texas. All this embossing really leaves no room for a label.
I believe this example is attic mint and held in a private collection according to Texas collector Brad Seigler.He knows of two cobalt blue examples and a few examples in clear glass.
DRS. HORNING AND McKEE’S
DOG AND CAT HOSPITAL
Waugh Drive at Willia. St. AND Cleveland Park
Houston, Texas
The Largest And Best Equipped DOG & CAT HOSPITAL In The South
Houston, Texas
Now when I do a search for Drs. Horning and McKee I get a Dr. J. G. Horning attending a dog show in Dallas and a Dr. A. J. McKee being busy in the absence of Dr. Horning (see below). Bingo!
A little more searching shows that Dr. Horning was a long time secretary of the Houston Kennel Club and was widely respected in the veterinary field. Horning became one of Texas’ first specialists in the diseases and surgery of small animals, and throughout his career stressed the importance of small animals, and particularly dogs, as companions for people. From A Special Kind of Doctor: A History of Veterinary Medicine in Texas (see further below).
Mention of a Dr. J. G. Horning attending a Dog Show and a Dr. A. J. McKee being busy in the absence of Dr. Horning. – Jen-Sal Journal – Jensen-Salsbery Laboratories, 1919
Reference to Dr. J. G. Horning’s Hospital from A Special Kind of Doctor: A History of Veterinary Medicine in Texas by Henry C. Dethloff, Donald H. Dyal
The dog & cat hospital bottle is embossed THE LARGEST / AND BEST EQUIPPED / DOG & CAT / HOSPITAL / IN THE SOUTH / HOUSTON, TEXAS, On the back side Burkey & Horning. – Cole Collection
2019: Another example – The Largest And Best Equipped DOG &CAT HOSPITAL In The South, Houston, Texas. Recently obtained by Brad Seigler.
Dr. Jackson Gilbert Horning, Veterinarian
Dr. Andrew J. McKee, Veterinarian
Dr. Fred J. Burkey
Select Listings:
1892: Jacob Gilbert Horning, Birth Date: 8 Jun 1892, Baptism Date: 5 Feb 1893, Baptism Place: Reading, Berks, Pennsylvania, Denomination: Methodist, Organization Name: Central United Methodist, Father: Giblert Horning, Mother: Kate Horning – Pennsylvania and New Jersey, Church and Town Records, 1669-2013
1908: Newspaper notice (below) Dr. Fred J. Burkee, President Houston Humane Society – The Houston Post, Thursday, June 4, 1908
1910: Jacob G Horning, Age in 1910: 17, Birth Year: abt 1893, Birthplace: Pennsylvania, Home in 1910: Good Spring, Walker, Alabama, Street: Jonesburgh Road, Relation to Head of House: Son, Father’s name: Gilbert C Horning, Father’s Birthplace: Pennsylvania, Mother’s name: Kathrine B Horning, Mother’s Birthplace: Pennsylvania, Attended School: Yes, Gilbert C Horning 58, Kathrine B Horning 50, Jacob G Horning 17 – 1910 United States Federal Census
1911: Burkey & Burkey (Fred J. and Fred H.Burkey) veterinary surgeons, 1711 Preston av., Houston, Texas – Houston, Texas, City Directory, 1911
1917: J. Gilbert Horning (Burkey & Horning), rms 1717 Preston, Houston, Texas – Houston, Texas, City Directory, 1917
1919: Notice (above in post) Dr. J. G. Horning, Houston, Tex. spent several days in Dallas attending the StateFair and Dog Show. – Jen-Sal Journal, Jensen-Salsbery Laboratories, 1919
1919: Notice (above in post) Dr. A. J. McKee, Houston, Tex. is a very busy man in the absence of Dr. Horning. Dr. McKee is associated with Drs. Turkey & Horning. – Jen-Sal Journal, Jensen-Salsbery Laboratories, 1919
1920: Burkey & Horning (Fred J. Burkey and J. Gilbert Horning), Veterinary Surgeons, 1711 Preston av, Tel Pr 3397, Houston, Texas – Houston, Texas, City Directory, 1920
1920: Dr. Fred J Burkey, Age: 48, Birth Year: abt 1872, Birthplace: Ohio, Home in 1920: Houston Ward 3, Harris, Texas, Residence Date: 1920, Relation to Head of House: Roomer, Marital status: Single, Father’s Birthplace: Illinois, Mother’s Birthplace: Illinois, Able to Speak English: Yes, Occupation: Veterinary, Industry: Surgeon – 1923 United States Federal Census
1922: Newspaper notice (below) Burkey-Horning marriage, daughter of Dr. Fred J. Burkee to Dr. Jackson Gilbert Horning – The Houston Post, Sunday, February 26, 1922
1922: Newspaper advertisement (below) A. Rubber Play. Baal (sic) For Dogs, Drs. Burkey and Horning’s Dog and Cat Hospital, Houston, Texas – El Paso Times, Sunday, April 9, 1922
1923: Newspaper notice (below) Southern Sports edited by Drs. Burkey E. Horning and Jackson G. Horning – The Houston Post, Saturday, July 22, 1922
1923: Newspaper advertisement (below) Drs. Burkey and Horning’s Dog and Cat Hospital, 1711 Preston Ave. – The Houston Post, Tuesday, December 25, 1923
