To say that these past 2 months have been horrific is an understatement. I have been an emotional basket case going between bad and really bad days. I've shed so many buckets of tears that I thought my body could not produce any more...crying when I talk about it, crying when I talk to Frankie, crying when I think about it, crying when I'm driving, crying when I drove by a school yard and watched a girl play Frisbee with her dog - her normal, healthy dog, crying even when I was swimming... good grief!
I've prayed to God...how could you do this to one of your creations? Please make her better. Please end her suffering. Oops...don't take her away from me, just take her suffering away.
I so want Frankie to be healthy, I so want her to be a normal dog. I miss her twice daily "woo woo" as she reminded me that it was time for food. She would do that with her teeth clenched and her lips would puff up - sooo cute. I miss her wagging tail. I miss her running into the woods to find a bunny and come out 5 minutes later and 100 feet away from where she entered. I promise her that if /when she can do that again, I won't get upset.
I've had friends ask if I'm mad at the rescue organization. Hindsight, I do think that they should not move dogs out of vet care unless they are completely healthy...including diarrhea cleared up. I get that they have to balance costs and so want the dogs moved into foster homes as quickly as possible. Beyond that, no, I'm not angry. They did not or could not have known that this would happen...none of us could in our wildest dreams have predicted this.
And to realize that all the dogs Young and Frankie came in contact with are still healthy...it's just rotten luck...Frankie is in that 1% of vaccinated dogs that still come down with distemper.
I've had friends say they'd never adopt from a rescue..stick with the breeders, it's safer. But it's not. A friend bought a dog from a breeder that had had distemper. Not all breeders are reputable and take proper care of their dogs...there are articles every day about animals being kept unsanitary, unhealthy conditions. I still think rescue is the way to go... you are getting a dog that has been in foster care, they have information on their temperament and personality...and if they have been sick, rest assured, they are not going to adopt them out until they are healthy.
I've gone through stages of guilt and what-ifs. If only Scooter had not died, if only I had gone to Michigan to visit my sister - with either of these scenarios I would have held off on fostering. The pups would have gone to another foster home and Frankie would still be healthy.
Writing this now, looking back, I can safely say these have been the worst 2 months of my life.
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Young
Once Frankie's illness was confirmed to be distemper, I knew exactly where it had come from...Young.
The other issue was all the dogs that Young had been in contact with: Addy - my other foster pup, Napoli- who had ridden in the car and spent the first night with us, Snyder-long story here but bottom line is I took in another foster pup not knowing that Young and now Frankie were walking germ bombs...some dogs that Addy & Young had a play date with when they both seemed healthy.... the list goes on, but it's like a Kevin Bacon nightmare...how many degrees of separation are there??
Any one of these dogs that Young had been in contact with was at risk. I immediately sent an email to a few key folks in the Lab Rescue organization and those whose dogs had been exposed, letting them know about Frankie's diagnosis.
I was pretty upset and honestly angry as well. I did get one response that sounded a little sanctimonious "that's why we recommend that fosters be kept separated from other dogs in the household" really - how easy is that to accomplish when you have multiple energetic balls of fur in the house??. I was also very disappointed that I did not get any replies from a few - I felt like now I was carrying the black plague as well.
Young had the green eye & nose goop long before the official Aug 14 diagnosis. He also had "hard pads" - literally looked like a dime thick, hard as a rock, callus on the bottom of his paws. Even though he was only 7 pounds, you could hear him clomping down the hall on the wood floors.
Young started to "jaw chew" - not very often, maybe once a day or so, but he'd move his mouth like he was chewing a wad of gum. This is a classic distemper sign of neurological damage.
In the middle of the night on Saturday, August 25, I woke up because Young was making noise in his kennel. I wrapped him in a towel and brought him to bed with me. In the early hours of the morning, he woke me up with a horrible howling that was agonizing to hear. He was having a huge seizure. He had a few more seizures Sunday morning that left him completely limp, like a wet noodle. I contacted my vet liaison and they made arrangements to have me bring him in to one of their vets that was open on Sundays.
The drive to Ft. Worth was a quiet one...I did not have a good feeling about this. After an exam by the vet and a discussion with the rescue org, they made the decision to put him down.
The other issue was all the dogs that Young had been in contact with: Addy - my other foster pup, Napoli- who had ridden in the car and spent the first night with us, Snyder-long story here but bottom line is I took in another foster pup not knowing that Young and now Frankie were walking germ bombs...some dogs that Addy & Young had a play date with when they both seemed healthy.... the list goes on, but it's like a Kevin Bacon nightmare...how many degrees of separation are there??
Any one of these dogs that Young had been in contact with was at risk. I immediately sent an email to a few key folks in the Lab Rescue organization and those whose dogs had been exposed, letting them know about Frankie's diagnosis.
I was pretty upset and honestly angry as well. I did get one response that sounded a little sanctimonious "that's why we recommend that fosters be kept separated from other dogs in the household" really - how easy is that to accomplish when you have multiple energetic balls of fur in the house??. I was also very disappointed that I did not get any replies from a few - I felt like now I was carrying the black plague as well.
Young had the green eye & nose goop long before the official Aug 14 diagnosis. He also had "hard pads" - literally looked like a dime thick, hard as a rock, callus on the bottom of his paws. Even though he was only 7 pounds, you could hear him clomping down the hall on the wood floors.
No point in keeping Frankie and Young separated...the damage had been done.
I had been rubbing a mix of Castor oil, lavender and rosemary essential oils into Young's paw pads....was that helping to soften them up?? OMG, the calluses were coming off. Was this a sign that he was out of the woods, that he was on the road to recovery??
In the middle of the night on Saturday, August 25, I woke up because Young was making noise in his kennel. I wrapped him in a towel and brought him to bed with me. In the early hours of the morning, he woke me up with a horrible howling that was agonizing to hear. He was having a huge seizure. He had a few more seizures Sunday morning that left him completely limp, like a wet noodle. I contacted my vet liaison and they made arrangements to have me bring him in to one of their vets that was open on Sundays.
The drive to Ft. Worth was a quiet one...I did not have a good feeling about this. After an exam by the vet and a discussion with the rescue org, they made the decision to put him down.
This is a picture of Young when he first came to my house on July 18...what a beautiful boy. He's in a better place now - yes, Wendy, I believe all dogs go to Heaven.
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 -
Second stage -
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.
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.
Addy
Addy went to a new foster, where she remained healthy.
She is available for adoption......here's the link to her and other great labs available through DFW Lab Rescue http://www.dfwlabrescue.org/dogs/available
She is available for adoption......here's the link to her and other great labs available through DFW Lab Rescue http://www.dfwlabrescue.org/dogs/available
Friday, October 5, 2012
Where it all begins
As a way to help me get over the loss of Scooter (more probably to avoid dealing with it) I decided to start fostering for the lab rescue organization.
There were a group of puppies that needed homes, and I volunteered to foster 2 of them.
July 18 -
I coordinated to meet another volunteer to get my new foster pups. There were actually 3 - Young, Addy and Napoli. Young and Addy were going to stay with me, Napoli would be picked up the next day to go to another foster home.
When we met, she mentioned that the pups had diarrhea, but that was probably due to stress and changes in their diet. Little did we know...
Young and Addy were typical puppies...cute, full of energy and absolutely adorable. But 4 days later, Young seemed to have less energy, he wasn't eating with as much gusto, and I was worried he was getting dehydrated. His diarrhea had not cleared up, so on Monday I took him to the Highland Park Animal clinic (HPVC), another one of the vets the organization uses.
They were concerned enough that they kept him for a few days, with an IV to get him re-hydrated. I brought him back home and he seemed better, although now he had some green eye goop...looked like the beginning of an eye infection.
July 27 -
Frankie was burning up - she was radiating heat and I didn't need a thermometer to tell me she was running a fever. I took her to my vet, North Dallas Animal Hospital, along with Young so they could look at his eye infection.
Tests were run.. x-rays taken to rule out a blockage...no diagnosis for Frankie.
The vet, however, cautioned me about Young's eye infection. "It could be a sign of distemper" she said, so keep a watch on him. She then launched into an explanation that the distemper vaccination was very effective, and as Frankie had been vaccinated, there was nothing to be concerned about.
Frankie was put on antibiotics and prednisone to help reduce the fever.
**Note here - normal dog temps are somewhere in the 101 degree range. Frankie's were spiking as high as 103 to 104 degrees.
July 31 -
Young seems to have gone downhill again, back to HPVC for an extended stay.
Frankie's fever had gone down, but was back up again. My vet referred me to the Center for Veterinary Specialty Care in Carrollton.
More tests, an ultrasound, and the diagnosis: "fever of unknown origin" - no kidding !!
Aug 6 -
Young comes back home. He now has "green goop" discharge from both eyes and his nose. HPVC is stymied...they don't know what is wrong with him. He is now in quarantine - a kennel in my home office rather than with Addy.
Aug 7 -
Frankie is developing a cough - kennel cough??? good news is she's still on the antibiotics
Notice that Young's paw pads are hard, like he has bad calluses. I begin to suspect he has distemper.
I sent a note to the rescue group...it was beginning to look like a bad day care...everyone sharing their germs...time to get Addy out of here while she was still healthy.
Aug 9 -
Took Frankie to North Dallas vet to do a viral panel - testing for rocky mountain fever, distemper and a few other viruses
Aug 14 -
Confirmed. Frankie has distemper.
We immediately take her off the prednisone. Although that was helping to keep her fever down, it also suppresses her immune system. We need that as strong as possible now.
**Another note, I had to go back to HPVC to get more meds for Young and had a discussion with the vet. He was shocked to learn that Frankie had distemper, passed on from Young. He said that it was a very difficult disease to diagnose - to which I now believe is just B*S*. When my vet made the first mention of possible distemper in Young, I started researching...and the symptoms that Young displayed - the eye infection, the hard paw pads, were classic signs that this vet missed. I honestly think that because this clinic is in high end part of town, its just something they have not encountered. My next door neighbor, who grew up in the country, called it just by looking at Young.
There were a group of puppies that needed homes, and I volunteered to foster 2 of them.
July 18 -
I coordinated to meet another volunteer to get my new foster pups. There were actually 3 - Young, Addy and Napoli. Young and Addy were going to stay with me, Napoli would be picked up the next day to go to another foster home.
When we met, she mentioned that the pups had diarrhea, but that was probably due to stress and changes in their diet. Little did we know...
Young and Addy were typical puppies...cute, full of energy and absolutely adorable. But 4 days later, Young seemed to have less energy, he wasn't eating with as much gusto, and I was worried he was getting dehydrated. His diarrhea had not cleared up, so on Monday I took him to the Highland Park Animal clinic (HPVC), another one of the vets the organization uses. They were concerned enough that they kept him for a few days, with an IV to get him re-hydrated. I brought him back home and he seemed better, although now he had some green eye goop...looked like the beginning of an eye infection.
July 27 -
Frankie was burning up - she was radiating heat and I didn't need a thermometer to tell me she was running a fever. I took her to my vet, North Dallas Animal Hospital, along with Young so they could look at his eye infection.
Tests were run.. x-rays taken to rule out a blockage...no diagnosis for Frankie.
The vet, however, cautioned me about Young's eye infection. "It could be a sign of distemper" she said, so keep a watch on him. She then launched into an explanation that the distemper vaccination was very effective, and as Frankie had been vaccinated, there was nothing to be concerned about.
Frankie was put on antibiotics and prednisone to help reduce the fever.
**Note here - normal dog temps are somewhere in the 101 degree range. Frankie's were spiking as high as 103 to 104 degrees.
July 31 -
Young seems to have gone downhill again, back to HPVC for an extended stay.
Frankie's fever had gone down, but was back up again. My vet referred me to the Center for Veterinary Specialty Care in Carrollton.
More tests, an ultrasound, and the diagnosis: "fever of unknown origin" - no kidding !!
Aug 6 -
Young comes back home. He now has "green goop" discharge from both eyes and his nose. HPVC is stymied...they don't know what is wrong with him. He is now in quarantine - a kennel in my home office rather than with Addy.
Aug 7 -
Frankie is developing a cough - kennel cough??? good news is she's still on the antibiotics
Notice that Young's paw pads are hard, like he has bad calluses. I begin to suspect he has distemper.
I sent a note to the rescue group...it was beginning to look like a bad day care...everyone sharing their germs...time to get Addy out of here while she was still healthy.
Aug 9 -
Took Frankie to North Dallas vet to do a viral panel - testing for rocky mountain fever, distemper and a few other viruses
Aug 14 -
Confirmed. Frankie has distemper.
We immediately take her off the prednisone. Although that was helping to keep her fever down, it also suppresses her immune system. We need that as strong as possible now.
**Another note, I had to go back to HPVC to get more meds for Young and had a discussion with the vet. He was shocked to learn that Frankie had distemper, passed on from Young. He said that it was a very difficult disease to diagnose - to which I now believe is just B*S*. When my vet made the first mention of possible distemper in Young, I started researching...and the symptoms that Young displayed - the eye infection, the hard paw pads, were classic signs that this vet missed. I honestly think that because this clinic is in high end part of town, its just something they have not encountered. My next door neighbor, who grew up in the country, called it just by looking at Young.
Scooter
SScooter and Frankie became fast friends. I used to take them to a large field behind a local community college. Scooter would play fetch while Frankie tried to chase bunnies out of the woods.
They loved to meet their friends, Aramis and Blue, at the field and play with them too.
(OK maybe Scooter, not so much...he was too focused on his kong)
After a big 4th of July, swimming at the dog park and a few days later in a friend's pool, Scooter died unexpectedly on July 11.
A little background
Or as the food critic, Anton Ego, would say...a little perspective.
I was looking for a companion for my dog Scooter after losing his sister a few months before. Frankie came to my home as a DFW Lab Rescue "foster" dog with the intention of helping find her a "forever home". The day I came home and found both Frankie and Scooter on my bed together, I knew we had found our new friend. I formally adopted her in March 2012.
Frankie was approximately 2 years old. She had been picked up by animal control in Feb 2012 as a stray. Her owner came to the shelter and signed her over. At the shelter, she received her first round of vaccinations - the standard parvo/distemper and rabies.
Once DFW Lab Rescue pulled her from the shelter, she was taken to one of the vet clinics that the organization used. She stayed there for a week as she had a cough, and was given her second round of parvo/distemper vaccinations there.
I was looking for a companion for my dog Scooter after losing his sister a few months before. Frankie came to my home as a DFW Lab Rescue "foster" dog with the intention of helping find her a "forever home". The day I came home and found both Frankie and Scooter on my bed together, I knew we had found our new friend. I formally adopted her in March 2012.
Frankie was approximately 2 years old. She had been picked up by animal control in Feb 2012 as a stray. Her owner came to the shelter and signed her over. At the shelter, she received her first round of vaccinations - the standard parvo/distemper and rabies.
Once DFW Lab Rescue pulled her from the shelter, she was taken to one of the vet clinics that the organization used. She stayed there for a week as she had a cough, and was given her second round of parvo/distemper vaccinations there.
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