Kind Hearts In ActionHere is the treatment for Old Dog Encephalitis, the neurologic form of canine distemper.
Here is a video in which Dr. Sears describes how to perform the spinal tap used in this treatment.
If you need help finding a vet who can perform this treatment, please contact Ed Bond at ed.bond.new.york@gmail.com.
If you are in the Philippines, you should check out this blog.
And everyone is always welcome to read our FAQ.
I adopted a small female Rat Terrier from a high kill shelter in Florida. She was found as a stray Jan. 17th and I put a hold on her Jan. 22nd. She was very laid back it the cage and when I visited with her in the viewing room. She was probably sick already.
I brought her home on Jan. 25th, a Monday morning and this is her story. I am positive she had distemper and that the NDV serum given to her by a vet in Cooper City on the 29th absolutely SAVED her life. No distemper test was done because my vet felt it would not really show she had distemper because she was given a distemper shot when she was in the shelter.
Cough started the day after she came home. Took her to my vet, thinking it was kennel cough. He gave her antiobiotics and some dog food that hopefully would get her to eat. He mentioned there had been another instance of dog he had to put down because it got so sick with distemper and said, perhaps, she could have distemper. He said to keep a close eye on her over the weekend. She got worse over the weekend and I researched symptoms of distemper. She started with pitting on her teeth, sick look in eyes, slightly runny eyes, cough, lethargic, 103+ temp for days, not eating (I fed her with syringe – chicken, vitamin and water mix about every 3 hours, lost 1 1/2 lb).. Luckily she had not started any twitching or seizures and I was lucky enough to find the Save Distemper Dogs website and sent them an e-mail right away. They responded within an hour. This was the day I had taken her back to the vet on Mon. morning, Feb. 1st, and he gave her different antiobiotics and said it was out of our hands at this point. I really felt and knew she was going to die if I didn’t do something drastic. Save Distemper Dogs e-mailed me back and gave me the vet closest to me who gives the NDV shot. It was a horrible windy rainy day and the vet and his assistant came out to my car to give her the shot since they didn’t want her in their office. Mimi started eating on her own by that Thursday, her fever broke and she started to recover. I have had dogs for 25+ years and I am convinced she would have gotten much sicker and deteriorated if I hadn’t taken her for the shot. I am so glad there are people out there like Dr. Sears who are not afraid to research and get the word out on saving distemper dogs. And Mimi thanks him too!!
Helena Nesbitt
Posted Feb. 10, 2010
Here’s the story my local newspaper published on Jan. 23, 2012
http://www.galaxgazette.com/content/cure-deadly-canine-disease Galax (Va.) Gazette Nov. 24, 2011
Four Paws magazine did a story on the NDV treatments. November 2011
http://www.statesman.com/news/local/officials-vets-report-many-more-dogs-with-distemper-628037.html (4/27/2010)
[story refers to NDV protocols as an experimental treatment.]
Spanish language publication in the Dominican Republic interviewed Dr. Sears. 9/30/2010
http://www.petsmagazine.com.do/
amazing story. In fact the website is such a comforter. When Muttu tested +ve, I really thought I’ll have to let her go as I thought there’s no cure and two vets told me so as well. I have lost a dog to Distemper when I was 7 and watched him suffer as there was no preventive vaccine available in that part of the country (East) back then. All those memories came rushing back and I did not want to see Muttu suffer as well.
such a touching video and then this hope suddenly crept up inside me.
first he was hesitant but since the Doc had saved Macho and at one time also Macho’s mother, the owner agreed. This was great because Macho is a healthy, vaccinated Mongrel and we didn’t have to waste time deworming and checking a stray dog for any harmful disease.
SAD UPDATE 2/10/2010: Dixie had a relapse. Dr. Sears suspected some sort of other infection triggered this new attack, but Dixie died Feb. 10, 2010. With this sad case comes a reminder that no medical treatment can offer a 100 percent guarantee of recovery. There are unaccounted factors, and the length of time that passes before treatment is a major issue. Dogs treated with NDV-induced serum within six days of the onset of symptoms show a recovery rate in the high 90s.
1/23/2010: Here’s the story from Dimas De Moya of the Dominican Republic, who sent in photos and video after his 7-month-old pug, Dixie, was treated for canine distemper and is making a recovery.
Received January 23, 2010:
“Well, long story short, my wife and I had to leave town to visit her aunt. We left Dixie in a dog’s caring center (which we regret until this day) to make the trip. The next day after she arrives to our home she started vomiting, that was the first sign something was wrong. We took her to one vet who said she got a parasite on her stomach. They gave her meds and the next day she was ok. Suddenly three or four days later I notice some salivate on her mouth, but didn’t quite know what it was until I saw her having a seizure. I look it up on google and came across with Distemper, I took her to another vet and describe the symptoms and he made a distemper test. Sadly it came positive.
“Look further and discover your page…. The rest is what we are living day by day, praying for her recovery and supporting her every step of the way.
“The treatment was done on Monday the 18th. She seems to be having good progress, yesterday she presented more coordinated, standing alone and today we noticed her eating even more than the past days. Hopefully she’s on her way to recover from Distemper, only time will tell.”
“Attached is a video of her eating after the procedure was done. She’s a fighter since day one, we do hope she wins this fight thanks to the procedure and our love and caring.”
Here are some photos of Dixie before and after treatment
If a dog is older than 12 weeks and does not have an immune system already compromised by another disease, a shot of the Newcastle Disease Vaccine may be enough to create the response needed to fight distemper. However, the dog should not be in the neurologic stage [seizures], and the shot should be given before the dog has gone through six days of symptoms. However, some pure-bred dogs do not make the needed response, and these include German Shepherd, Poodles, Irish Setters, Gordon Setters, English Bulldogs and Shar Peis. These would need to be treated with the serum.
Here are Dr. Sears’ notes on using Newcastle Disease Vaccine, as a simple intravenous shot to the body of a dog in the pre-seizure stage of canine distemper: This is made with 6 cc of diluent into a bottle of 1000 virus particles. The dosage is 0.2 cc of mixture per 10 pounds of dog. Give the injection twice over 24 hours as factor induced is short lived. This is the inducer. If treating ODE [post seizures] the dose is 1/2 cc of same into the foramen magnum
As to the injection site: “There are three veins available in the dog. Cephalic in the front leg. Popliteal in the hind leg and the Jugular in the neck. Any works well.”
Note: Some vets have reported dogs going into shock following the intravenous NDV injection. However, they have been able to manage this with fluids and epinephrine. Others have said they give the shot over a 15-minute period to avoid shock.
You might be able to find the Newcastle Disease Vaccine in an agricultural supply store. But there are sources online.
Jeffers Livestock is where you can order NDV (LaSota strain) online. Make sure you order this one which does not combine any other vaccines with it:
Poulvac® Newcastle B
Newcastle Disease(LaSota Strain)(MLV)
(Fort Dodge) Vaccine
F7-JD Poulvac® Newcastle LaSota
$3.97
http://www.jefferslivestock.com/
The above company is in Dothan, Alabama.
Here are some numbers for them:
Toll Free:1-800-JEFFERS or 1-800-533-3377
Local:1-334-793-6257
Fax:1-334-793-5179
Email: customerservice@jefferspet.com
The Newcastle Disease Vaccine can also be ordered through this Web site:
Dante was found on the streets of Hancock Park in the Los Angeles area three weeks ago wandering with a female Husky. He was adopted from the shelter along with the Husky as a bonded pair. From the time he came out of the shelter he was being treated for kennel cough. The kennel cough was getting worse and the family took him to the vet, and the vet diagnosed Dante with distemper. The family had been considering euthanasia until Kind Hearts In Action and Under the Porch came forward to get Dante to a vet willing to try Dr. Sears’ distemper treatments.
Dante is now at the vet awaiting treatment, but donations are needed to pay his vet bills. Donations can be made through Paypal at the Under The Porch Web site at http://undertheporch.wordpress.com/ or through Kind Hearts In Action at https://kindheartsinaction.com/
We also need funds to pay for the creation of Dr. Sears’ serum to save dogs in Southern California.
Please help,
Ed Bond
From Karen Bond: Dante didn’t make it – he passed away in the night after the last bed check at midnite and before the 6 am rounds. He appeared to have gone in his sleep not all twisted from a siezure . The vet techs had all spend time with him petting and talking to him and trying to make him comfortable. It was just too late for him … Sorry guys, we tried … We will save the next one is what we have to hope.
This is from Dr. Sears’ lecture in October 2009. It’s a very useful clip for any vets who are using the spinal tap. To order the DVD go here.
