What We've Done

Have you voted?  Remember today is runoff day in Houston.  Anyways, I've been lazy with the blog writing since it became the holidays.  I did get an email regarding various requests on what I did and didn't do for Cooper.  I'm taking the lazy route out and just posting it down here.  It was written on Novemeber 17th.


Cooper seems to be recovered.  I say seems to be because although he has had no outward signs of the virus since early October, his last PCR test for the virus was still positive.  The vet says that it can take months for it to clear out.  He is of course still in the time frame for the neurological hitting, but that is getting less likely.  Christmas is kind of my target date for breathing a sigh of relief.

As to treatment... like most people it was mostly palliative.  He got lots of IV fluids and antibiotics for secondary bacterial infections, including pretty bad pneumonia.  However, my vet and I did do 2 alternative courses of treatment.  First of all, within the 2nd day of the pneumonia, I started him on a supplement called TranferFactor Plus.  It was recommended to me by someone online, and I figured why not.  It sounded like it would likely be an empty bottle of hope, but I now believe it helped.  My vet also did his own research and I think he talked to or communicated with a vet in Austin who had successful experience with the human grade of the supplement and distemper.  Cooper is still taking it, but only one capsule a day.  The second treatment we did started after the pneumonia cleared.  It is an iv injection called immunoregulin.  I have no idea whether it helped or not, but we did it anyways.  

Some other things... for most of the worse part of his illness I was staying at my parents house.  My mom being who she is kept his room clean to the point of craziness.  She covered the floor with sheets because the room was carpeted and changed them daily.  Also I do believe in high quality dog food.  He has been on Wellness Puppy since I got him.

I should add that there are several things we did NOT do.  We did not (and still have not) boostered him with the vaccine combo that includes distemper.  It is a partially live vaccine and we are being overly cautious.  He also was not fixed until a few days ago.