Distemper

Do a quick search of "distemper" and there are zillions (ok, maybe not that many) sites on the web.  They basically all say the same thing...

Highly contagious - unvaccinated dogs and young pups whose maternal antibodies fall below protective levels are most at risk.

The virus attacks the brain cells, cells that line the body surface, including skin, mucous membranes, and the gastrointestinal tract.  Nice huh?

First signs 6-9 days after exposure - check.

First stage -

• Characterized by fever spike - check
• Second fever spike along with loss of appetite, listlessness and discharge from eyes and nose - check
• The discharge becomes thick and sticky - check
• Diarrhea and vomiting - check
• Dog seems to get better, then relapses - check

Second stage -

• Signs of brain involvement - slobbering, head shaking, "gum chewing" seizures. 
• Tremors - "myoclonus"  - rhythmic contractions of muscle groups up to 60 contractions a minute.  The jerking can effect the legs, the head, the whole body...turn your dog into a bobblehead dog.
• The only good news here is if the dog recovers, the jerking continues indefinitely, but may become less severe with time.    But it may get worse before it gets better - check
• Hard pad - attacks the skin of the feet and nose.  Appears about 2 weeks after the onset of infection - check check and check

Treatment:  NONE
Just like any human virus...it has to run it's course.   All you can do is keep your dog on antibiotics to prevent secondary bacterial infections.
Supportive care to prevent dehydration,  meds to prevent vomiting and diarrhea, and anti-convulsants to control seizures.

Outcome  -
I've read there's a 50% survival rate in young pups  and a 70% survival rates in healthy adults.
All these second stage symptoms can take any where from a few weeks to a few months to completely manifest themselves.....there is no way to predict how severe this virus will impact your dog, so time is either your friend or enemy.  

So why did Frankie get distemper??
Just like getting a flu shot does not guarantee you will not get the flu....being vaccinated does not guarantee that your dog is 100% protected.   Maybe there is something else wrong with her immune system,  maybe she never developed enough antibodies, maybe the vaccines were old or not administered correctly  (twice??)   Who knows...and honestly...not sure at this point what knowing would accomplish.   Bottom line...she has distemper, now how do I deal with it?

Why put her through this?
I wonder if that mortality rate includes all the dog owners who give up, who don't want to deal with the disease and make the decision to put the dog down.
Early on,  without knowing what was wrong with her,  my goal was to make her comfortable and do what I could to help her fight what ever infection was raging in her body.
Once the diagnosis was confirmed,  the big unknown was how bad will it get with her...and only time would tell.  Too early to give up on her...she was, after all, a healthy strong 2 year old gal,  not a weak 7 pound pup like Young.