Help ... New Dog Has Distemper - Any Cures?

[Hakim]

A friend of mine just shared his sad story. Three weeks ago he went to the pound and picked out a cute, year old Lab-looking dog and took it home.

For a couple of weeks his new pet proved to be a great companion. Then, a cough developed, and after a visit to the vet, the diagnosis was not "kennel cough" but distemper. The vet said this is virtually invariably fatal. My friend is pretty down about it.

Does anyone know of any other possibilities for treatment? Sometimes these things just happen, I realize, but if any of the TBN community has any hopeful suggestion, I would pass it along to him.

Thanks.

 

[GerardC]

Sorry to hear this. As I see it, if they went to the Vet. and the Vet. commented as you stated, then I would think that there is little hope. G

 

[beenthere]

Sad, but would take the vet's advice.

Surprised that a dog from a pound wouldn't have its shots. Around here, the 'humane' society comes close to requiring the new owner to also have 'all' his shots, and cannot live on a farm, and cannot be making the animal live outside, and the animal has to show visible acceptance of the potential owner. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

 

[shvl73]

I found this, http://www.vetinfo.com/ddistemper.html#Distemper
It's a sad situation for sure.

 

[Hakim]

shvl73,

Thanks for the link. Very comprehensive info. I passed it along to my friend. Doesn't look so good, sad to say.

 

[om21braz]

Sorry to hear about your friend's Lab pup. Don't count the pup out yet though - some manage to survive beyond reason. Of the Labs we've got one has survived Parvo and another a dose of poisoning (neighbor - gone now thank goodness) that from the symptoms I felt could not possibly make it.

 

[Junkman]

I had a Lab back in 1973 that had a confirmed diagnosis of distemper and I treated it with antibiotics for 4 months to help against the effects of the secondary bacterial infection. Even though I was able to keep it alive, it never did get over the basic viral infection and had to be put down in the end. I have always tried to save any dogs live even in the face of odds that I knew were overwhelming. If your friend wants to go the distance and try to save the dog, then there is nothing that should stop him. Distemper, is a infectious disease to other dogs that haven't been immunized against it. It isn't infectious to humans. The drug of choice back then was tetracycline, but I don't know what it is today. One of the side effects of tetracycline is that it inhibits the absorption of calcium in the bowel, so this will stunt the dogs growth. I did it once, but I wouldn't do it again knowing what I have learned. I am a slow learner, so I attempted with my last pup, Chloe, to keep her going against all the odds and medical advise. She died 2 weeks ago at the age of 9 months. It was devastating, but she had 7 more months of happiness than if I had put her down when she was first diagnosed. These are personal decisions that one has to make as to the sacrifice that will go along with the treatment. It will take a lot of time on his part, but if the pup does survive, then he will be rewarded in the long run. If it doesn't as in my case, the reward will be knowing that you gave it a chance against all odds, and that the pup will give you love in exchange, even if it is only for a short time. The love that Chloe gave us in the 9 months of her short life was worth even minute of effort that we devoted to her in exchange. Good luck with whatever his decision is....
This is the last picture of Chloe... it was taken the Wednesday before she died the following Saturday. She was happy up till the last moments of her life...

 

[Golfgar4]

Hakim,

I wish I could take credit for this, but it was just sent to me a few minutes ago in an e-mail. I thought that it was so appropriate for the situation that you're dealing with, that I thought you might like to share it with your friend.

Hope it helps! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif


Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old Irish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog's owners; Ron, his wife, Lisa, and their little boy, Shane were all very attached to Belker and they were hoping for a miracle.
I examined Belker and found he was dying of cancer.

I told the family there were no miracles left for Belker, and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home.

As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought it would be good for the four-year-old Shane to observe the procedure. They felt Shane could learn omething fromthe experience.

The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker's family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time, that I wondered if he understood
what was going on.

Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away. The little boy seemed to accept Belker's transition without any difficulty or confusion.

We sat together for a while after Belker's death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than
human lives.

Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, "I know why."

Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next stunned me - I'd never heard a more comforting explanation.

He said, "Everybody is born so that they can learn how to live a good life - like loving everybody and being nice, right?"
The four-year-old continued, "Well, animals already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long."

 

[SteveH_CT]

Gary - That is without a doubt one of the nicest things I've ever read here. I so often struggle with the short lives our dear 4 legged friends have... I've never heard it put quite like that - but thanks for sharing it.

Hakim - Sorry to hear of your friend's dog and it's problems... I've got no good advice, just well wishes that hopefully everything will work out for the best.

 

[TheKid]

25 years ago my wife and I adopted or first dog and it was also a lab mix. When we took her to the vet he said she caught distemper about the same time she got the shots for it. He gave us some type of pills I''m pretty sure were an antibiotic. If I can find her vet paperwork when I get home tonight I'll let you know what they were.

The main problem we had was that she had no interest in eating anything. That was until someone told us to go get some cans of cat food. That did the trick. She started eating again, got her strength back and was with us for 17 years.

Tell your friend not to give up hope.