We are still getting messages daily about stray and pet dogs with distemper. This is what distemper looks like. We won't share the worst videos we've received of severe seizures that resulted in death out of respect for the owners.
If your dog has distemper, start them on antibiotics asap. We've been treating 5 adult dogs with 100mg tablets or capsules of doxycicline, and luckily they all seem to be recovering so far. For dogs with seizures like this, we would also give gabapentin 100mg capsule two times a day, which is an anti-seizure and pain medication.
We received multiple reports about this dog with distemper in front of Grounded that we named Grover. I tried to feed him yesterday, but he had no interest in food. With what little energy he had, he wagged his tail every time I talked to him. 😥 Strangers have shown him kindness in his final days. He had a bowl of water and many people tried to feed him, but he was too sick. I was arranging for him to be humanely euthanized because I didn't think there was a chance for him to recover.
JM has been feeding another stray with distemper named Toby, and she planned on taking Grover this morning. But he had already passed when she got to Grounded today.
Run free sweet sweet boy. I wish we could have saved you. 🐾
We started Coral on immunoglobulin injections last night. Today she developed "chewing gum fits," which is a classic symptom of distemper that progresses into seizures. We have 8 days' worth of injections. I am hoping and praying they stop her from getting to the seizure stage. 😭😭😭
A tourist named Sharon donated wet food for this stray that lives in front of Frendz Hostel and named him Toby. When we found Toby, it was clear that he has distemper. He has a lot of discharge coming out of his eyes, and he has trouble standing and walking. Toby is a very sweet boy that loves getting pets. If you see him, please give him some love.
We will start him on antibiotics tomorrow.
Please, please, please vaccinate your dogs with 5 in 1 vaccine to prevent them from getting parvo and distemper.
There are 3 stray puppies at the Bubulongan basketball court that need furever homes asap! If anyone is willing to adopt, please go get them now. 🙏🙏🙏
And please vaccinate them with 5 in 1 vaccines from the municipal vet! We are in the middle of the worst distemper outbreak ever. We are also dealing with a distemper outbreak at our place and cannot take any rescues in.
Coral tested positive for distemper 10 days ago. She has been getting sicker and weaker the past couple of days and has developed ticks. We just found out that we can give immunoglobulin injections to boost her immune response against distemper. The cost of the immunoglobulin available in Puerto is P23,000.
We've personally paid for Coral's expenses since we took her in last month. We also paid for all the expenses of the sick litter of 6 kittens, Jupiter, and Elsa (we did receive some donations for Elsa, but it only covered the cost of her chemo and a little food).
It has been an extremely difficult month of rescue as we have shouldered almost all of our fostering costs out of pocket. We've been responding to messages about treating distemper every single day. We've seen many deaths among strays and pets, and have never seen an outbreak this bad throughout all of El Nido.
We want to give Coral the best chance at surviving. We didn't know Jupiter had distemper when we brought him back to foster, because we vaccinated him in May, so he had a milder case than most. That was unfortunately how Coral caught distemper.
Please help us save Coral by donating towards her treatment costs. We have to start the immunoglobulin injections tomorrow before she starts having seizures, which we have already seen kill many dogs. 😭
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HOW TO TREAT DISTEMPER
We are getting reports of distemper ***every single day***. There is a huge outbreak among the beach dogs in downtown El Nido, but it's pretty much everywhere.
The first symptom is pus-like discharge from the eyes. Then nasal discharge, fever, coughing, lethargy, reduced appetite and vomiting. Neurological symptoms can also develop causing seizures, twitches, paralysis, etc. that can cause permanent damage. There is no cure, and you can only treat the symptoms, which can last months, and can be fatal.
The difficulty with treating strays is that they require daily treatment for many weeks and they are highly contagious. Puppies are the most vulnerable, but the ones that get proper treatment can recover!
Treatment consists of treating the symptoms:
1) antibiotics to treat any underlying bacterial infection like amoxicillin or doxycicline
2) preventing dehydration. You may look at the pinned post on parvo on how to give subcutaneous fluids if your pet is very dehydrated. You may use dextrose powder (available at El Nido Pet's Mart) or rehydration salts available at any pharmacy to prevent dehydration and if dehydration is mild.
3) using medicine to stop diarrhea and vomiting
4) anti-seizure medicines to stop seizures if needed that are not available in El Nido. It's a highly controlled drug only available through vets in Puerto.
5) pain medication if needed (do NOT give animals human painkillers)
6) Vit b complex supplements, especially if experiencing seizures/paralysis
7) isolation from other animals
8) for treating severe nasal discharge or congestion, you can:
- clean noses with a damp towel
- do twice daily steam treatments in a bathroom with hot shower or using hot water (https://youtu.be/ka60O-a0rwQ?si=5ShcFnOrSrliyUaP)
- twice daily nebulizer treatments with .9 sodium chloride (both available at Farmacia)
- daily saline nose drops using .9 sodium chloride
This dog has the classic signs of distemper.
The ONLY way to prote
Ambra just found this puppy in Cabugao. She is wondering if anyone owns the puppy and she is just lost? The pup may have been hit by a vehicle as she is walking with a limp. But she is eating and looks so adorable, perhaps she has an owner. If she doesn't, then we will look for a furever home. Please let us know if this is your lost pup or if you recognize her!
We received our regular monthly donation of dog and cat food from El Nido Pet's Mart yesterday! Thanks so much!
It has been such a huge help for us having these donations. We feed strays, gain their trust, and then sterilize and release them. Mass sterilization is the key to controlling the stray population.
We always carry dry food with us so we can feed hungry strays when we come across them. Mamas always pull our heart strings most. 🥹
