This is little Bartley. I love this picture because it showcases arguably his best feature – those wonderful Papillon ears!
Received: Wed Jul 07, 2010 from Ellen Parks
When I adopted Bartley nearly two years ago, I had no idea that the twitch he exhibited at every moment was a symptom of distemper. When I took him in to the vet for routine immunizations only a couple of months after I adopted him, I was told this information, and I also learned that he was heart worm positive. We immediately started preparing him for heart worm treatment, and I was told by several
And here you can see the Dachsund body…veterinarians that although Bartley most likely had distemper, nothing could be done. They informed me that he most likely would die from encephalitis, but that it was possible he might still live to be an old dog.
That summer, (2009) the people I adopted him from contacted me. They told me that the other dogs they rescued with Bartley, were all coming down with distemper. They told me what symptoms to look out for, and described to me the procedure that Dr. Sears had developed. Of course I already knew he had distemper, and because of what other vet’s had told me, I was skeptical. Still, I became very worried, so I took Bartley’s previous owners’ advice, and contacted the vet that had performed the procedure on their other dogs. At the time, this vet felt that Barltey was stable and not progressing, so she recommended that I come back if and when he started showing other signs, such as fly biting episodes or seizures. I left hoping it would never come to that.
Sadly, this past June, Bartley started having fly-biting episodes. Over a two week period, he had three episodes, and he progressively spent more time in a disoriented state. His facial twitching become much more severe as well. When I took him in to Dr. Zilkha here in Austin, Texas, she felt certain he had Canine Distemper, and had already performed the procedure on nearly 30 dogs. We wasted no time. She checked on his immune system, to see make sure his chances of responding to the treatment were good, and then Bartley went in to the receive the serum both intravenously and via spinal tap. Dr. Z did a wonderful job. Bartley woke up the next morning without even the slightest headache! Soon after the treatment, she told me that the CSF came back positive for distemper antibodies, so Bartley’s distemper was confirmed.
Since the procedure, he has not had a single fly-biting episode or had moments of disorientation. Even his twitch is less severe. I feel so fortunate that Dr. Sears developed this procedure, and that the people I
There’s the papillon tail! I’m so thankful I found a vet that could help him, and we can share many more camping trips and other adventures together.
adopted Bartley from read about it, and took the time to convince Dr. Z to try it on their dogs. For dogs who have strong enough immune systems, I believe this procedure works. It certainly did for Bartley. Please share his story with anyone you know who has a dog that is sick with distemper.
Sent in from Joanna Hackney of Austin, Texas, July 7, 2010:
Hi…I’m MJ and I’m borrowing my mom’s e-mail account to send you this message!
I’m still just a puppy but I’ve been through so much for my young age! I started my life with a loving family but then tragedy struck and they were forced to surrender me to the shelter b/c we lost our home in a house fire. I stayed at the shelter for 10 miserable days and was extremely sad & confused…I mean, what did I do wrong to deserve this? The people at the shelter tried to interact with me but said that I was “shut down” and decided that I wasn’t eligible for their adoption program. So I ended up on their “euthanasia list”. I didn’t want to die…I was just really scared!
Then this wonderful team of loving people called Austin Pets Alive! came to my rescue and pulled me out of the shelter! A lovely lady named Becky took me home with her & the next day, I met my foster mom, Joanna. We had a great first week getting to know one another and I didn’t want to ever let her out of my sight. When she would leave me at home, I would just curl up against the front door waiting for her to come back and love me. On the 10th day though, I woke up feeling awful! As the day progressed, I became more and more ill and when I was rushed to the vet, they diagnosed me with distemper and pneumonia! My temperature went all the way up to 108 degrees! Yikes!
The next 3 weeks of my life were horrible! I couldn’t eat and had to have several IV’s administered each day. Then there were days that I couldn’t take myself out to the bathroom and eventually the infection moved into my brain causing neurological damage. My prognosis was grim and other people would have said that I was a lost cause but Austin Pets Alive! refused to give up on me. I am so incredibly grateful to the amazing Dr. Jefferson, the super caring vet techs Sara & Jordana, and the talented Dr. Zilkha at White Angel Animal Hospital who administered a progressive distemper treatment directly into my spinal cord to kill the virus.
And today, I am fully recovered from my distemper! Sure, I have some weird neurological ticks, but I’m such a happy puppy! And best of all, my foster mom decided she could not part from me after all we have been through together…I’ve been adopted! I truly would not be alive though if it was not for Austin Pets Alive! They saved me once from the kill list at the shelter and then again when I was sick.
My mom thinks it’s important to pay it forward. She’s been volunteering at Austin Pets Alive!, but I want to do something too! She says that my distemper treatment cost about $1000. In puppy speak, that’s the same as 75 bags of kibble!! So I’d like to raise enough donations to Austin Pets Alive! to pay back my medical bills and then some more too so that other pups can be saved just like me!
Please help me achieve this goal! I’m in a contest until July 15th for Austin’s Favorite Dog and each dollar you donate is a vote for me and a donation to Austin Pets Alive! Every vote counts!! Just go to the following website and enter your vote for me…MJ! Thanks!
I am happy to inform you that after two months we got the proper vaccine, and immediately we had a case of the distemper. Because we didn’t had the serum ready we used directly in to this dog vein and after 48 hours she was so much better, the pneumonia stayed but after 10 days of antibiotic treatment she is like nothing happened.
The story of this dog starts with a person who brought her in to be put down after she was hit by a car. She came in shock, and we refuse to put her down. So we started treatment for her injuries. After having her here for eight days she started with the distemper symptoms. We did the test, and yes she was positive to it. So we treated her, and now we have our first saved case. Now she is doing well and looking for a home .
Here are some pictures of the dog we named “Hope” (Milagro in spanish )
Now we are in the process to do the serum it will take us some time because we need to make sure the donor dog is in good health and we are doing some blood test and giving vaccines because is a street dog so we will wait some time before doing the serum.
Hi, here some pictures of our first time serum production.
Sadly Sofía didn’t make it even though she was improving from the neurological phase after her neck tab. The pneumonia was horrible and she was under so many antibiotics, and none made a positive effect on her. But we could treat another 14 weeks old puppy. Tomorrow is another day.
Brownie survived using the NDV direct and Pi (a 4 pounder Min Pincher mix) is under observation because she also was exposed but up to know she has not developed any symptoms except for coughing a few times and we treated her with antibiotics, direct NDV and that was that. I don’t know if using the serum on her would be appropriate.
Thank you for your the information and feedback.
Maritza Rodríguez
Executive Director
The Humane Society of Puerto Rico
NOTE: In February 2011, Maritza Rodriguez reported that 3 of 4 dogs treated with NDV-induced serum had recovered.
Bailey was 3-months old when she came down with canine distemper in August 2009. Her owner, Vanessa Garcia of Miami, learned of Dr. Sears’ and the NDV treatments and contacted Ed Bond on Aug. 6. She set about ordering the Newcastle Disease Vaccine and searching for a vet willing to do the injection. Here’s some of what she wrote:
Thursday, Aug. 6, 2009
“Thank you SOOOOO much ED! I am freaking out bc we just force fed her and she threw it all up.. I’m a wreck.. anyways I was looking for the vacine bc I remember seeing it in the blog but now I cant find it .. ill keep looking.. keep me posted on any update.. thank you!!!!”
Friday, Aug. 7, 2009
“A little Baily Update: she is stable I think (no more throwing up, just heavy panting)… and we were able to order a dosage of the vaccine to be arriving by Sat @ noon!”
From Dr. Sears: “Sent here the information just now. Hope all goes well for her. Thanks for your interest. Seems the world is full of this disease. Shame I cannot stop the pain and suffering.”
Saturday, Aug. 8, 2009
“Good Morning Ed!
“I am anxiously waiting for the vaccine .. It should be arriving here @ 12!!! I did receive an e-mail from the Dr. as well.. thank you… and he said that for my 16lb dog its 1cc IV … Today I have to run and weigh her bc she might have gained a pound bc we have been force feeding her, so I asked him if 1 lb changed the dosage… I hope he can get back to me on time (fingers crossed!)
“I will keep you posted!”
Vanessa
Sunday, Aug. 9, 2009
“Hello Ed,
“Right now it is officially 23 1/2 hours since the vaccine was injected and I think I see her better… She is a bit more alert and chewing on her bone. She is still breathing a little strange but I am sure its not suppose to clear all of the symptoms so quickly.. plus I don’t know what I should be looking for… I am still force feeding her but I have a pretty good feeling its working! I am SO happy. I am just wondering what differences I should be seeing now?
Oh, and just to let you know I was able to get a great vet to give her the shot. He first put her in a quick vapor treatment for about 20min. Then inserted the IV gave her a Vitamin B booster shot through the IV, then the NDV and then about 150 cc of IV fluid to hydrate her. I was so nervous but he was excited to see if it worked bc I know that it would be a big break through.”
Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2009
“Hello Ed,
“Right now Baily is pretty much the same. She has her ups and downs. I noticed that her paws are beginning to peal a little and I don’t know if that is good or bad.
Photo posted in April 2010.
She is still coughing and letting out some mucus from her nose but I think that is good bc she is getting it out of her system. As you can tell I AM VERY OPTIMISTIC !!! Any advice? or anything that I should be looking out for?
“Thank you!” Vanessa
Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2009
“Good morning Ed,
“Today Baily ate some turkey and dog food on her own. I think that if she continues this way she will do just great.”
Thursday, Aug. 13, 2009
“Hello Ed,
“Just to give you a little update. Today Baily is doing SO much better I notice that she is getting a little heavier and she is breathing a much better.”
Monday, Aug. 17, 2009
“Hey Ed,
“How are you? Baily is doing great… every day better! BUT i am concerned bc I just saw that Baily has a sore on her belly and I think another one on her leg.. Do you know what that is? Does that have anything to do with the Distemper?”
Thursday, Aug. 27, 2009
“The sores Dr. Sears said that they were not from distemper and they are getting better. She was doing better and gaining a little weight and eating on her own but now she has decided to stop eating again! She has not had diarrhea any more and yesterday she threw up. I don’t know what to do. Any advice? should we just stay calm and wait it out? Oh and her lungs are sounding better. Thank you!”
But despite the ups and downs of the recovery, Vanessa stayed calm, and Bailey made it through her bout with distemper. She is now a healthy dog, as you can see here, above.
Nanook was adopted from a pet rescue farm in Poway on March 13th, 2010. He was a very timid but playful 3-4 month old puppy. He seemed healthy with the only symptom being a dry warm nose. Nanook had diarrhea since we brought him home. I thought the first few days he would be stressed out and then also adding a new kind of puppy food, I expected it a bit. He was only going 3 or 4 times a day but it was soft in a mound and not formed.
3/17/20010
I went to my local vet clinic and just picked up a couple of cans of hills prescription diet rd and a tube of probiotics for him. It seemed to help a bit, some stools now are formed and some partial mounds. He was drinking a lot of water, eating well and his neck skin bounces back good. I also noticed a bit of eye discharge. The first few days it was clear and I would wipe it away in the morning. Then for one day it looked slightly green but less drainage. I am only wiping it away in the morning so I thought that this small amount is normal.
3/22/10
I took Nanook to the vet for his diarrhea and took in a stool sample. The vet said he had rods in his stool and so we got Primor antibiotic for him.
3/26/2010
His stools improved but then he vomited on the 26th and I returned to the vet and he said that he has protazoan in his stool, so we started metronidazole. I had been giving him water from our reverse osmosis system. His stool now looked normal and I saw no blood, worms, or anything abnormal looking. . He was a bit lethargic, but still playful. Over the first week with us he developed a small paw twitch, first visible only during sleep, which progressed to include his entire left leg. I mentioned the paw to the vet on the 26th. He said along with hiccups it is normal for a puppy. Over that evening the twitch increased to the entire leg so we went to another vet that a friend uses.
3/27/10
2nd Vet : She did a full blood work up and sent the stool for tests. She noted that the leg was not normal. It has increased in frequency. The blood work was close to normal and the stool was positive for girardia and coccidia.
3/28/10
He was started on the metronidazole and Albon, the Priomor was stopped. This vet called a neuro vet that agreed it was probably distemper. We were informed that the tests to confirm are not very reliable and that there is no treatment.
3/30/10
Nanook’s leg twitch seems to be much stronger and he is whimpering when he is trying to get comfortable and sleep. He also has only a pea size green drainage from both eyes now. I have no history of him having any respiratory symptoms. He has vomited 1 time a day for the past two days a couple of hours after breakfast after drinking a medium amount of water. He is eating and drinking well, and playing occasionally. His stool is normal. I took him to a ER Vet center in Tustin. They gave him a pain shot and drew some blood and did a conjuctival smear that they were going to hold onto until I took the dog to the neurologist the next day.
3/31/10
Neurology consult in Tustin. Spinal tap/ CSF test to send to lab done under sedation at Neurologist. He was started on Neurontin 100mg 3X daily. It seemed to help a bit.
4/1/10
Still waiting for the test results. Now twitch is very strong and occasional right rear leg twitch noted. Contacted Ed Bond who referred us to Dr. S. in Westlake. Took Nanook to Westlake. Dr. S. out sick…seen by his partner who also wanted to wait for the CSF results. She gave us Chinese herbal Di tan tang. 1 capsule 2 x day.
4/2/10
Called Neuro Vet about whimpering. Prescription of phenobarb picked up and single 15mg tab given.
Emailed Ed again. Still looking for a Dr. who will do the bladder smear.
Called Dr. N. in Simi Valley. Nanook still eating and drinking. 2 legs twitching, lethargic, glazed eye appearance, drunken walk. He would come in on his day off and see Nanook. After Hx and exam, concluded that it was probably distemper. Dr. N. did the NDV vaccine in the body and csf. Tolerated procedure well, woke up crying and shaking. Given Buprenex for pain several times after the procedure. Trembling but sleeping.
4/3/10
Still recovering at Dr. Ns. Eating, walking and wagging tail. Still twitching and whimpering. Phenobarb 15mg given.
4/4/10
No change in status. Phenobarb 15mg 2 x daily given. Still good appetite.
4/5/10
Nanook picked up from Dr. N. Still twitching strong, and whimpering. Returned home. Restarted oral antibiotics. Continued phenobarb. Rough night…only 1-2 hours of sleep due to whimpering and twitching. Di tan tang and Phenobarb given….no coorelation or relief noted from either med. Cut phenobarb back to half tab 1 dose. Still giving Di tan tang.
4/6/10
Still good appetite, normal stool. Still strong twitching both legs, drunken walk. Glazed eyes and lethargic. Whimpering and shaking when standing. Occasional tail wag but no play. Slept during day 2, 3 hour naps. No phenobarb for 14 hours. Di tan tang given. At night Slept for 6 hours.
4/7/10
Shaking when standing, drunken walk, lethargic, whimpering, unable to sleep/ nap during daytime. Restarted half tab phenobarb, and continued Di tan tang. 8pm: lethargic, very little walking. Still eating and drinking great. Twithching very strong, occasional whimpering. Full tab 15mg Phenobarb given. 9pm dog sleeping twitching a bit less.
4/12/10
No real changes to report. Still on clindamycin 2 X a day, Omega 3, flagyl 2 X day, albon finished. Appetite good, stool normal. Very little play. Phenobarb given during day ¼ tab 2 or 3 times during day hours. And then ½ to full tab given at night. Sleeping good at night. Not as much whimpering day or night. Twitching is strong includes the strongest limb, the front paw and seems to include the rest of the paws at different times…all stemming from the same front paw twitch (in unison). Drunken walk still present. Occasionally when standing he will stand on 3 legs, and the worst paw he holds up as it twitches. He wags his tail when we talk to him or when a new family member comes home. He occasionally walks around by himself in the backyard, but normally just follows me around all day. He seemed to have a good day yesterday…outside most of the day watching us work in the yard. Seemed really tired at night and then I realized that I had not seen him nap much during the day. Today, I am now scheduling naps during the day for him.
Since we have had him, he has had zero respiratory symptoms. He has never had a full epileptic/ grand mal type seizure and doesn’t have the “bubble gum” chewing/ teeth chatter. He will occasionally whimper and whine while he is laying down and we are now wondering if that is a small focal seizure.
Dr. N. is the best vet and we are so happy to have found him. Since he is new to this treatment, I am reaching out to get as much advise as we can. Is there a med protocol that we should follow after the NDV treatment?
Before tonight (4/7), I was not convinced that the phenobarb was helping (it only seemed to make it harder for him to walk, he was still twitching and whimpering just the same). Tonight it has seemed to help him go to sleep (sleeping at my feet for the last hour). The twitching still strong mostly, but occasionally less. I feel that he needs sleep to heal, but wonder if the phenobarb is the best thing for him. 4/12 we seem to have a good phenobarb schedule.. less during the day, so he can walk around… More during the night so he can sleep.
I am now wondering about a muscle relaxer, botox injection, or acupuncture for his twitching.
Spoke with the Neurologist today 4/7. No positive distemper in the csf. Other test like toxoplasmosis still pending. If these come back negative, then it looks to still be distemper.
Spoke with the Neuro office again today (4/12/10). No results back yet. Does it really take over 2 weeks for these results?
Please advise how we can make Nanook comfortable while his body is trying to heal itself.
UPDATE: RECEIVED APRIL 18, 2010
Hi Ed,
Nanook is still with us. He still has a very strong twitch that effects most of his body. I will try to update some more video of him soon. He stands on 3 legs a lot and has a head bob. The left front paw that started the twitch first is the one that he is having a hard time walking on. He seems scared to move because when he walks that paw doesn’t always work and he will occasionally fall. He still follows me around all day. He is happy when anyone comes home, or when seeing someone that he hasn’t for a while. He will give out a bark and lots of tail wags. He likes to cuddle with me and will sleep comfortably on my lap. Sometimes when he sleeps his twitch is very light. He goes in his crate at night and sleeps. He is no longer whimpering at all. Last week he was occasionally waking up with a cold wet nose, but we have not seen that in a few days. He likes to go out in the front of our house and will occasionally explore on his own through all of the bushes. He has been eating well. We had him on crumbs of phenobarb, less and less each day, with a bit more at night. He has been off of it for 3 days now. We have him on a chinese herb Di Tan tang and vitamins. I hope that we will see some improvement soon. It is hard to see a puppy that is missing out on all of the normal puppy stuff. He doesn’t run and play since the day before the treatment. He will occasionally gallop to keep up with me in the backyard and he will take his bone outside and lay down with it. We are still hoping for the best. I have an appointment with Dr Novy the first week of May, when he returns from his ranch. I will keep you posted with any new developments. My husband has been reaching out to anyone on different chats about treatment for chorea/ myoclonus. I hope that we can find something to help.
UPDATE 5/2/2010
Hi Ed,
Here is a summary of Nanook that you can share. We are hoping for the best this week.
Nanook was adopted from a pet rescue farm in Poway on March 13th, 2010. He was originally rescued by 4 Patas in Baja/ Ensenada, Mexico. He was a very timid but playful 3-4 month old puppy. The rescue said that he was one of the healthiest looking pups that they ever rescued.
His original symptom was a light paw twitch noted on 3/14. With all other tests normal we proceeded to the Neuro vet on 3/31 where a spinal tap/csf test was done. Deteriorating rapidly, we took him to a vet in Simi Valley 4/2 to have the NDV treatment. This vet has over 40 years of experience and has seen the massive damage distemper can cause.
Nanook returned home 4/5, the NDV seemed to stop the progression…but only time could repair the damage already caused.
The CSF test took over 3 weeks to get the results back 4/19. Everything was negative. The only test from this that can have a false negative is Distemper. The Simi Valley vet has seen a lot of Distemper and confirmed the diagnosis using only his years of experience on 4/2. If we would have waited for the results, Nanook would have been gone.
He has been on 1/4th of a tab of phenobarb 2 times a day for the past 4 weeks. He has been comfortable, no whimpering. Eating well. Just twitching and lack of coordination.
Last weekend we had quite a scare, ended up carrying him to our deck and laying down with him to say my goodbyes because his chorea movement stopped and his heart slowed and then it came to a stop and then he miraculously awoke, the chorea movement started again and thankfully so did his breathing, but he was gone for a few minutes. His baseline now is marked with heavy breathing and a total lack of coordination, including his tongue, which keeps falling out of his mouth. He’s still happy to see us, wags his tail and still follows us around the best he can.
We did an emergency visit 5/1 and returned to the vet in Simi Valley, Nanook is now on potassium bromide to help treat the chorea and with the hope that it will give the myelin time to repair. This med should see some improvement in the next ten days. The vet has indicated that he has seen dogs recover from this. We are all hoping and praying for the best. This could be our last hope.
Here are the links to the newest videos that were taken 5/2.
There are prior videos of the disease progression on youtube and the kindheartsinaction website.
Thanks for everything.
Kandy Bouquet
Update: 5/11/2010
Tue, May 11, 2010 11:46:27 AM
Just wanted to say thanks to everyone for their support with our little puppy Nanook over the last month and half. As you all know we rescued a puppy from San Diego in March and he was everything we could ask for, perfectly behaved, absolutely affection and he spent most of his time shadowing my wife’s every move. My two boys fell madly in love with him and there was always a race from the car to the house to see who could get to him first. The boys slept on the floor next to him almost every night. Nanook brought a lot of life to our home and his greeting when we got home was second to none. Nanook started to get a little tremor in his paw about a week after we got him, which we had checked out by 6 different doctors and that tremor during into a convulsion of sorts, then escalated in a variety of neurological symptoms. We found a wonderful doctor in Simi Valley and took Nanook to him for his expert care in the field of distemper. Nanook survived a total of 4 operations, he lived through a seizure which took his breath away for several minutes and then miraculously started breathing again – just in time for Kandy (the love of his life) to get home and see him. Unfortunately, the past week he went downhill very fast, suffering from total paralysis from his neck down and was only able to wag his tail and wimper in his efforts to greet us. We saw him on Saturday after his 2nd procedure with one more procedure scheduled for Sunday and we decided that he was not going to be able to live the life of a dog and there was no good prognosis for his condition. Kandy and I went up to Simi Valley yesterday afternoon to get him out of the “cage” and we took him to the park to watch ducks and fed him his favorite steak and eggs meal. We had a great afternoon with him but we could tell he knew his time was short and he was not feeling well. We took him back to the vet’s office last night and Dr. Novy put him to sleep in Kandy’s arms. It was terrible that he was dealt such a bad hand in life and never got what he deserved. He had too short of life, but the time he had here was full of love. Our boys went off to school today in okay shape, Kandy on the other hand will be dealing with the loss of her best buddy for some time.
Thankfully we had you all and the support from people going through the same issues which was giving us a great deal of hope and provided tremendous relief for our family.
Another tale of a distemper dog successfully treated in India.
Tue, Apr 13, 2010
Hi Kaveri Uthaiya,
I’m sorry to say I don’t have the photos of my dog taken before the NDV treatment. But I have attached the videos and photos of my dog taken after the NDV treatment. It’s a female puppy. Her name is Sundari.
In those two videos, the black one is the dog which was struck by distemper.
Thank you for the support.
Regards.
Atita
Fri, March 19, 2010
Hi Atita and Ed,
Atita I was at Dr. Pavan’s clinic today and he told me that your dog was cured of Distemper with the serum. I’m really glad to hear this – Congratulations! May I request you to share with us any photos you might have of your dog (before and after the NDV treatment)?
Ed, I received the 2 DVDs yesterday, the movie is brilliantly done, thanks for sending it. I have given Dr. Pavan a copy and also some folks at animal organisations – everyone is quite excited, let’s hope the word spreads fast.
I just wanted to send you an “official” account of Basher’s story for your website! We feel that you provide a life saving resource and both my husband and myself are eternally grateful for the resources you provide.
So without further ado, here is Basher’s story. It’s long, so feel free to abridge it as you see fit.
My husband and I first fell in love with our Lab/Dachshund mix on March 20th, after seeing his photo on the shelter website the Tuesday before. He was a “special needs” pet, and ended up being featured as the Friday Pet of the Week on a local TV station, because his heartworm test had come up positive upon impound.
As we interacted him in the outdoor kennel, it became apparent that he was the dog for us: a perfect gentleman with both us and our 11 month old daughter. As we leashed him to walk him back to the holding kennel, he had a slight cough. “Kennel cough!”, I told my husband. It’s common in shelter pets and nothing to be alarmed at. We were told by shelter staff we could take our dog, now named Basher, home on Tuesday after his scheduled neutering. However, Tuesday morning came and the shelter called, letting us know they would not be neutering him because of his cough and his positive heartworm test. We were welcome to take him home, and they would provide us with a basic antitbiotic to help his cough and to clear his nasal discharge which was crusting over his nostrils. When my husband picked Basher up after work, a clinic employee explained it might be distemper and they’d been having signs of it in the shelter. They handed him a pamphlet about distemper and sent him and Basher on their way.
The second night was the night we suspected something more than kennel cough. His breathing became labored, and he was not eating. He was only holding water down for 20 minutes before coughing so heavily it was just white and foamy. We took him to our family vet on Thursday who prescribed a different antibiotic, an anti-nausea pill, and a pill to calm his stomach. He was also pumped full of IV fluids and had bloodwork done. Thursday night was an improvement, with him eating, but still coughing. He seemed to have a little more energy, but this was not to last, for Friday evening it was back to a lack of appetite, which made is impossible to medicate him, and now his nose was also completely crusted over with greenish-brown phlegm.
I talked with my co-worker on Saturday at the library where I work and she agreed with my worst fears that it might be distemper, but she said there was a forum on her Houston hometown newspaper that said there was an experimental serum that could cure dogs of distemper. A cure? I had to know more! An internet search led me to the Save Distemper Dogs website and I emailed a shot in the dark hoping for a cure for Bash. Within 30 minutes, I received an email back! Serum had just been made in Orlando! The moment I was off work, the whole family piled into the car to speed Basher towards a hopeful recovery.
When we arrived at the vet’s office, Basher was coughing white foamish liquid every 20-40 seconds and his nose was entirely crusted over with phlegm. Fortunately, he did not have any neurological signs, so he was eligible for the serum treatment. We were told we could pick him up in 24 hours, after the 3rd injection would be made.
24 hours later, we went to pick Basher up from the vet’s office. His coat was much shinier, and he was not coughing. The biggest difference came when we went to lift Basher into the SUV for the ride home. As we went to lift him in, he jumped right in! This would have been impossible for him 24 hours earlier!
The next week was a 180 turnaround for Bash. He stopped coughing entirely by day 5, and his appetite was ravenous since the day we brought him home, happily gobbling up the remainder of his antibiotics and medications that we had lovingly laced in the food! 🙂
It’s been 2 and a half weeks since his treatment and we have gotten to see the dog that Basher truly is – an energetic happy member of our family who lets my daughter pat him (as gently as a toddler can pat!) and loves to go for car rides to anywhere the family goes. 2 days ago, we took him to the dog park for the first time where he outran a 5 month old Staffordshire Terrier puppy, with nary a cough to be seen or heard!
Coming from what my husband and I felt sure was a death sentence of distemper, to the happy energetic dog he is now, we feel so blessed to have a long future with our wonderful family dog, Basher.
I’ve attached photos and a link to a YouTube video (that is grainy, stupid cell phone cameras!) of Basher’s progress. The only before photo is him lying down in the car with his nose crusties. That was the day we brought him home from the shelter. The other two are from April 6th, 10 days after his treatment. The video is also from the 6th.
There have been problems with dogs experiencing pain after the spinal tap treatment, but a drug therapy can help limit this. Here are some notes from Dr. Sears, with additional information he’s endorsed. The pain control and extra rest and sleep in the first week after the treatment is key. Otherwise a dog who had seemed to be rebounding will have sudden difficulties, as they crash from buildup of pain.
UPDATE, APRIL 7, 2010: “I talked to an old friend vet in Calif today who treated a case neurolgically and had pain. He treated with Buprenorphine and said the dog was much more comfortable. And did well. I would suggest this as a post brain tap treatment to see if it helps with the pain. Buprenophine 0.005 – 0.03 mg/kg IV or IM or SQ . 2 to 4 times daily. Also comes under the names of Buprenex, Buprenor, or Tumgesic. Vets have access to this drug. Worth a try.
I’m hearing of a large group of dogs that are having problems with lock jaw after being treated intrathecally. Do not know the cause. But, most of these cases go on to die or be euthanized. I think this needs to be put into the protocol as an exception. I know of no way to help this situation at this time. Doc
[UPDATE FROM ED BOND, NOVEMBER 2017: Received an email from a dog owner in Texas who reported that botox injections helped with the lock jaw problem. This is a newer technique, published in 2013 as a way to alleviate neuro trouble. Can be expensive, but worth asking about.]
Additional information, endorsed by Dr. Sears: “Also use valium orally or rectally. Between pain control and keeping them relaxed/sleeping for the first week, this helps them recover from the tap and seizures. For a 4 lb dog, we used 0.7ml up to three times a day of liquid valium–per treating vets tried both the cherry kid’s oral and the IV valium in her rectum. I was given pre-filled syringes of buprenorpnine for a week–in a big jar, and several days of pre-filled syringes of valium plus a prescription was called into my local pharmacy.”
Notes from Dr. Sears on pneumonia, distemper
These are notes from Dr. Sears, amending treatments, after attending a lecture in St. Louis:
Treatment at presentation of acute upper respiratory disease.
Serum – NDV induced serum 1 cc per ten lbs plus 1 cc per dog for 3 treatments given 12 hours apart. ( not NDV as some dogs cannot or do not respond and make appropriate cytokines) So, for a 30 lb dog would be 1 cc plus 3 cc for a total of 4 cc given 3 times.
Tamiflu–Turns out some of these other viruses are extremely sensitive to this medication. I would recommend that 1 mg/lb be given twice daily for at lease 7 days. Should block most of the viruses we are discussing.
Antibiotics.–All these viruses cause inflammation in the lungs. (flu causes hemorrhagic pneumonia) All leave a BACTERIAL SECONDARY PNEUMONIA. My recommendation is Penicillin -G and Baytril inj three times daily in older dogs 9 Mos or older for at least 10 days.
Penicillin -G and Chloromycetin (25 mg/lb) three times daily for 10 days in younger dogs. (Baytril causes joint problems in younger dogs)
Supportive fluids and feeding as necessary.
There is an effective test for these viruses developed and available through ANTECH. This is a throat swab that distinguishes the upper respiratory viruses and give a good diagnosis. Also for distemper there is still the transitional cell bladder test. Works great to diagnose acute distemper quickly.
There is a test for distemper antigen an intranasal swab that is done at the clinical level. Problem with this test is that it can and does go positive with vaccine distemper virus. So, it can and does give false positive tests for distemper and cause a misdiagnosis.
Bordetella is kennel cough. It is treated with cephalosporin antibiotics. It does not routinely cause pneumonia. Can be confused with the viral diseases. I DO NOT LIKE THIS CLASS OF ANTIBIOTICS FOR PNEUMONIA IN VIRAL DISEASES.
List of upper respirartory diseases that can and are confused with distemper
Treatment of secondary neurologic problems in dogs remains the same at this time. This problem is only seen in those dogs treated late in the disease or those that make a spontaneous recovery.
If you have any comments or recommendations please write to me and we can discuss them. I came to realize that a lot of the pneumonias that are reported are NOT distemper. Still need to be treated.
Doc Sears
Further notes from Dr. Sears (July 26, 2011):
“I have been thinking about the NDV neuro treatment for the last year. I realize that some get complete recovery and others do not. Some go on to have major neurologic and painful sequela to the procedure. Reading and following research in Neuro problems in the human has me thinking that these animals suffering from continuing disease may also be suffering from a secondary problem. In the human it is turning out to be HHV-6 a Herpes virus. It happens that this HHV-6 human Herpes virus can and does attack pets especially cats and possibly dogs. At this time I understand that there is only one canine herpes. It does respond to NDV serum by going quiescent but not a cure. In Canine Herpes from fading puppy syndrome when treated early with NDV serum we get a complete remission of the problem. Those pups not treated early and dying when about 4 weeks old do not respond to NDV serum alone but when treated with Gangcyclovir (a potent anti-herpes drug) along with NDV serum got results and cures from what was a 100 % death sentence. Soooo, I’m wondering if in the dog like in humans we have a dual infection in some of these animals as well as genetic factors involved. Genetic factors being RNA intracellular viruses carried by the genetics that interfere with the workings of the immune system. So, would suggest an experimental procedure. Those that do not respond immediately be give a bout of Gangcyclovir treatment Iv along with prednisone to see if this secondary horror can be contained. There are no lab tests at this time to substantiate this thinking but it might be worth a try. Doc”
