A SAD BUT HEARTENING CHRISTMAS TALE. On Christmas day I saw that my absolute favourite dog, Linjo Ice, was sick. I kept a close eye on him but the next day I could see that he was really ill. He was drooling, his eyes were full of puss and he could hardly stand up. I took him to Onderstepoort Academic Veterinary Hospital where they tested him for babesia (negative) and gave him an injection for nausea. The next day he was worse and I took him back again. At this stage he was staggering around like a drunk person if he managed to get on his feet. They again tested for babesia and voiced a suspicion that it could be distemper....... which is normally a death sentence for dogs. The Vet on duty stated very clearly that if it was indeed distemper, the best think would be to put him down rather sooner that later as most dogs dont survive the disease and the neurological damage is causes is not to the benefit of the dog. I decided against putting him down and took him home. The next day he was MUCH worse so I went back to Onderstepoort where they did a whole lot of tests and confirmed their suspicion of distemper although he was innoculated against it on a number of occasions. He could no longer eat, walk or keep his head up. I again decided to keep him alive until I was sure. I took him home and fed him my own concoction of protein, vitamins, Protexin, etc, etc. I was also advised by a fellow breeder to put him on a very high dosage of Colloidal Silver. Two days later he started lifting his head and is now so much better that he already started eating by himself and stumbling happily around the yard. He has obvious neurological damage which might, or might not, disappear over time. He lost his hearing and is very uncoordinated in his movement. His personality and loving nature has not changed a bit and he is still a stunning (albeit weaker and lighter) dog! His weight dropped from 73 kg to less than 49 kg in a week. I am so glad I did not put him down. As Ice was my only breeding male, I called Gerrie Botha of Maxipal Boerboels who owns a dog I admired every time I saw it...... and which I knew was not fully utilised at the moment. The spirit of the true Breed lover came to the fore and Gerrie offered me his lovely dog although Im not in a financial position to offer any immediate payment for the dog. It just shows that for some people the dogs, the breed and the welfare of the breed really is of prime importance and because of that, this breed still has a future despite all the dedicated efforts to destroy it. I will keep everybody updated on Ices progress........ I really have high hopes for his recovery.
Posted on: Tue, 13 Jan 2015 10:30:14 +0000
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