I hope this story encourages pet owners and vets to use the serum as soon as the first signs of distemper appear instead of waiting to see if other symptoms develop.
Bella is a beautiful chihuahua mix who was rescued from being euthanized at our local animal control facility last March. She seemed perfectly healthy but within a few days she began to cough. I took her to the vet who diagnosed her with kennel cough and prescribed antibiotics. Her cough worsened so the vet prescribed more antibiotics. It wasn’t until she stopped eating and became lethargic that he finally decided she”might” have distemper. He suggested euthanasia as an option and said supportive care was all that was available.
We said no so she was put on IV fluids and medications. That night I found your site and contacted you. I now know that had we already known about the serum Bella would have gotten treated the day she began to cough. Instead it was over two weeks after she started coughing before she received the serum. It did help her because the next day she sat up, walked around and allowed us to feed her with a syringe. However, she began twitching on the side of her head. So we traveled to get the spinal tap. THE SAME DAY OF HER TAP SHE ATE ON HER OWN FOR THE FIRST TIME IN OVER A WEEK. You have a video of this that I sent to you. [See below.]
We brought her home and she has continued to gain strength ever since and is living a normal, happy, doggie life. Bella’s journey has given us knowledge that has led to saving 2 more lives since then. One of these pups got the serum just a few days after starting to cough and overnight stopped coughing and is completely well. The other didn’t get the serum until late in the disease like Bella but he has also made a full recovery.
Here is a picture of Juicy, the other pup saved with the NDV-induced serum.
Again, I can’t thank you enough for the work you have done over the years gathering information and helping people get educated about this treatment for distemper.
Elizabeth Nelson
July 6, 2011