SUCCESS STORIES: Dogs saved while in neurologic stage

UPDATE: A study of the NDV spinal tap to treat dogs who have reached the neurologic stage of the disease had been conducted at Kansas State University from 2014 to 2016. After some promising results in early cases, Dr. Ken Harkin ultimately concluded that the NDV spinal tap — injecting Newcastle’s Disease Vaccine directly into the spinal canal — did not help in the recovery of distemper dogs. But he also believes we give up on these dogs too early. The disease can and does go into remission on its own, so dogs can survive neurologic distemper with enough nursing care. So, you should also look at these stories as examples of how it is possible for dogs in the neurologic stage of distemper to regain a decent quality of life.

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These are some dogs who had been suffering from neurological symptoms but survived after being treated with the NDV spinal tap.

Mojave from Santa Cruz, California

Received on Nov. 9, 2011

Bella from San Antonio

Received on July 6, 2011

NDV spinal tap on Hector in Istanbul, Turkey

Hector was treated with the NDV spinal tap on Feb. 10, 2011.

NDV spinal tap on Puik in Istanbul, Turkey

Puik was treated with the NDV spinal tap on Jan. 7, 2011.

NDV spinal tap in Szekszárd, Hungary

Dena is one of three distemper dogs treated with the NDV spinal tap. Video received Jan. 17, 2011.

Bailey in San Jacinto, California

This is the story of Bailey, successfully treated with the NDV spinal tap. Story, videos and pictures received Sept. 25, 2010.

Rosie in San Diego, California

This is the story of Rosie, rescued from the desert in Baja, Mexico, and later started showing symptoms of distemper. Received Aug. 26, 2010.

Bartley in Austin, Texas

Here is the story of Bartley, treated for neurologic distemper in Austin. Received July 7, 2010.

MJ in Austin, Texas

Here is the story of MJ, treated for neurologic distemper in Austin. Received July 7, 2010.

Dexter in Istanbul, Turkey

Dexter’s owners were told to put him to sleep when he was diagnosed. They found reason to hope. Received Feb. 11, 2011.

Romeo in Florida

It was quite the rollercoaster ride for the volunteers who banded together to save this dachshund mix, but Romeo has finally turned the corner. Received April 12, 2010.

Labrador in India

Here’s a letter received from India on Feb. 13, 2010.

Tigger

Here are the photos and story from El Paso, Texas, posted Dec. 15, 2009

Max

November 2009: Max had to fight both distemper and pneumonia. He was able to beat the distemper thanks to the spinal tap treatment discovered by Dr. Al Sears and used by a vet in Austin, Texas. It has taken him longer to beat the pneumonia, but he seems to be turning the corner. The music is Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” and “Keep the Faith” by Margaret Owens.

Icy

Received Sept. 18, 2009, from Clarisse Quitco-Tanner of the Philippines:

Icy’s Canine Distemper Treatment

“The very day she was diagnosed with distemper, me and my husband kept researching about Canine Distemper. I read many many medical articles about it saying that it has no cure and the prognosis is very poor especially when the Neurological phase sets in. She was tested and diagnosed on August 31 and it progressed really fast. In less than a week her neuro symptoms first showed on her right front leg, next on her head and then her hind leg muscles started to show subtle spasms. At first it was just bad when she would rest and sleep, then after a day or two, resting or not it was almost non stop. All this happened in a matter of days. …

“… One morning, a few days after the NDV treatment, I went downstairs and there she was! Greeting me joyfully, jumping, wagging her tail, all excited. She hasn’t been this way since she got sick. We can’t wait to spread the word and help other dogs.”

Hunter

Received May 3, 2009, from Suzanna Urszuly of Southern California:

My name is Suzanna and I have read about you on the Internet. I have a 5 months old border collie mix puppy who has distemper. She is really sick now, she can’t even get up. … I don’t think we have much time left and I am very desperate for help. …. About 10 minutes ago she got up ate and walked around the room. She fell down a couple of times but got up. I am not sure if she has seizures or not but she twitches a little with her head and front legs. not much just a little bit.

With help from the Facebook group, Suzanna got her dog, Hunter, to a vet in Austin, Texas, for a body and spinal tap treatment within a week. (Photos by Jade)

(Thank you, Jade and Julie.) Here’s what Suzanna said after the procedure:

Received May 19, 2009

Thank you so much for checking in. Hunter is doing amazing!!!!! … She already felt a lot better after her bodily Newcastle shot. Her nose and eyes were clearer and her pneumonia was gone. Now it has been about about 9 days since she got her CSF tap. She can walk really well now, she does not fall like she used to. She can see at least 60% how, before she was almost blind. She still has a little bit of the “head tilting and chewing motion” going on but it is less and less every day. She is such a happy, pretty puppy. I will send you some photos of her soon. She has a lot of energy too. She dug out my flowers and brought them back in the house and then she hid them under her pillow. 🙂 Thank you again for your help and I’ll be sending her pictures soon.

Update: Oct. 6, 2009

Here’s a video sent in by Suzanna Urszuly. She writes: “Hi Ed, Here is a video of the little girl. She is doing so well.”

Thanks again, Suzanna!

Sammie

Received May 25, 2009

Carmella

Received Jan. 12, 2009Dear Ed,My dog, Carmella has had treatment with NDV both in the body, and the neuro part (developed later) injected into the CNS.Her story is very long and is a compilation of months of documentation, before and after pictures, and IÕve even been monitoring her on live webcam accessible from my blog. You can read her blow-by-blow account from as far back as early July 2008 when I got her from the shelter. Here’s the link to my blog;http://artlifenewsblog.blogspot.com/ a photo album of her before and after pictures on Indie Public:http://www.indiepublic.com/photo/albums/946391:Album:541951 and my Flickr profile where you can check out my photo stream for more photos:http://www.flickr.com/people/giftbearer/.Her improvement has been pretty dramatic even though by the time I succeeded in convincing a vet to treat her with NDV in the Central Nervous System she’d already developed myoclonic jerking in her right, front leg. That was quickly worsening almost daily or every few days, and then just in time a compassionate vet stepped up to do the procedure! That stopped any further disease-progression.As far as I and Dr. Sears know she is the first dog in the US to be successfully treated with NDV into the spinal canal. Several dogs have tried it last summer and have not survived because of inexperienced vets or inability to withstand a surgical procedure in their advanced condition. Then after Carmella was successfully treated for neuro-involvement there was a male Boston Terrier successfully treated.There are a lot more vets who are willing to do the body cure than those who are willing to attempt the CNS part. Every single neuro-vet I asked in the Atlanta area and in Florida refused to touch it. Ultimately the vet who agreed to try it was one who had only done spinal taps years ago and he did it under ultrasound imaging so that there would be no slip-ups. Carmella had no crises or side-effects as a result, just a headache for the first few hours afterwards. I hope that her story can be placed on as many sites as possible so that other dog owners wonÕt have to wait as long as I did to have their vet agree to it. Although Carmella is cured of the virus, the time spent arguing her case because vets didnÕt want to risk “liability” with it not being published in medical journals, cost vital brain tissue she may never regenerate. Since then she developed Demodectic Mange, but is being treated for that with Mitaban dips and it is drying up, slowly but surely. I’ve attached a before picture of her taken the first week I had her and an after picture so that people can see the dramatic difference. (The headshot was before she developed mange) and her coat was beautiful at that time! Sincerely, Pippit

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