Ruby is a different dog. I noticed she’d been putting on weight and that her coat is now soft and the dandruff nearly gone. I was clipping Ruby’s nails tonight and discovered the best news of all: HER FEET ARE SOFT!!!! Her nose is still rough (that may never go away), but the fact that the pads of her feet are back to normal is very good news. Perhaps the virus is retreating?
Not only is her skin and feet improving, but so has her shaking. In fact, it’s improved so much that she can now RUN and pounce and shake squeaky toys and she can walk in a pretty straight line...all without falling. This is huge progress. Ruby attempted to run before, but always fell flat and fell hard. Now, she runs like a normal dog. She's even jumping up on me and running the fence at the next door neighbor dogs...hooray for bad manners!!! She still twitches, but I think the head bob is all gone now. Just within the last day or so, I've noticed she has some of her dexterity back and is not running into things, can stop on a dime, and can go from a soft to slick surface without falling. She still has a wobble when she moves at normal speed, but she can control it now and doesn’t fall nearly as often. The wobble tends to be worse when she’s very tired or still groggy from her nap.
Death from Distemper or heartworms is not quick, the suffering is immense. There is no cure for Distemper, and any treatment available is only meant to ease suffering or help the dog stay strong enough to attempt to fight the virus on it’s own. Distemper slowly destroys, the lymphoid organs, respiratory organs, gastrointestinal organs, and urogenital organs, one-by-one. Most dogs that die from distemper, die from neurological complications, many of which are horrific to witness: swelling of the brain, seizures, deterioration of mental and muscle function, paralysis, disabling muscle spasms, depression and an increased sensitivity to stimuli like pain or touch. Heartworms is as equally devastating. Read Livy’s story to understand why waiting to see if a dog gets heartworms to take action is not only expensive but very, very dangerous for the dog.
Ruby was very, very lucky to have survived and found a wonderful home to live out a healthy and happy life. Her illnesses were easily avoidable with simple and relatively inexpensive preventive measures. Sadly, heartworm prevention costs only about $7-$10 a month, and the DHLP-P vaccination, which protects against more than just Distemper, costs only about $8-$12 a year. The cost in your time to carry out this prevention is even less. We hope that Ruby’s story (below) and the suffering she had to endure will educate so that other dogs don't have to suffer or die from these preventable diseases.
Ruby was very, very lucky to have survived and found a wonderful home to live out a healthy and happy life. Her illnesses were easily avoidable with simple and relatively inexpensive preventive measures. Sadly, heartworm prevention costs only about $7-$10 a month, and the DHLP-P vaccination, which protects against more than just Distemper, costs only about $8-$12 a year. The cost in your time to carry out this prevention is even less. We hope that Ruby’s story (below) and the suffering she had to endure will educate so that other dogs don't have to suffer or die from these preventable diseases.
May 25: My German Shepherd
May 17: Olivia, Henrietta, Sunshine and Ruby
April 10: First Trip to the Beach
