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
April 1: Foolin' Around
It has been a few months since I've posted an update on Ruby, but that doesn't mean there haven't been changes around here. Over the last three months Ruby has made great strides, especially in the dog manners department. Ruby has finally learned that she doesn't HAVE to play 24/7 with her other Border Collie sisters, Livvy and Miss Sunshine. She is now content to have a good wrestling match then stop the game on her own and go chew her bone, come inspect what I'm up to, or best of all come snuggle on the couch for a belly rub! The biggest news of all is that Ruby has learned how to play gently with her tiny Dachshund foster sister, Henrietta. Henri doesn't much care for Border Collie antics, especially the leg grabbing and and body slamming antics of Ruby. Ruby learned early on to ignore Henri and Henri learned to ignore Ruby, and they've done great with that strategy so far. But, one evening Ruby decided to invite Henri to play by scooting up close on her belly, laying her head on the floor and wagging her tail. Would you know, it worked! Ruby and Henri had a fun (but short) game of gentle wrestling. Since then, those two will play every so often and Ruby seems to be pretty good about keeping it calm and gentle. Ruby never grabs Henri's leg and she lets Henri do the body slamming! I'm very pleased that Ruby has learned to change her play style so that her companions enjoy the game. That has been a very hard concept for her to learn. I'm still careful about who she's allowed to play with, though, because she can get revved up pretty quickly. But her ability to turn "off" is a big improvement. In fact, I can't remember the last time I've had to separate her from the others so my dogs get a breather!
