Reviews of Home Remedies for Mange

If you have a dog who you think may have Mange or are planning on adopting one from a shelter (places that are often full of this disease), you may want to read this information and keep it handy.

I want to thank several recent viewers for their recent suggestions on complimenteary medical treatments for Carmella. I took a long look the other night at what's out there in the way of home remedies and found some useful information I'd like to pass along.

One cream to treat the itching I was given a link to mixed both natural herbs and Hydrocortisone together. The natural ingredients would be no problem for Carmella but the Hydrocortisone is steroid-based and my reading suggests that any steroid could weaken her immune system in the long-term. Also this cream did not claim to actually kill the mites. I was particularly interested in remedies that do and in how they work.

There were several remedies out there that looked quite promising, some of which had pages and pages of positive reports. I've included the safest and (as far as I can tell) the most effective in this post, although there are some comparisons mentioned with agents that I would not recommend putting on your dog (such as Pyrethrum or Pine Sol).

One is a combination of Hydrogen Peroxide and Borax called Ted's Mange Cure.

Here is the exact formula below for any of you who might need it for your dogs now or in the future. (Re-printed from this site http://www.earthclinic.com/Pets/dog_mange_cure.html with slight correction for grammar and clarity. The originator is from Thailand);

**********************************************************************************

TED'S MANGE CURE:

Ted from Bangkok, Thailand writes, "The best cure for dog mange is to mix a 1% hydrogen peroxide solution with water and add borax. Dissolve thoroughly. Wash the dog with it once a week. Do NOT WASH THE solution left on the dog with ANY WATER. Do not wipe the dog dry. The solution will take effect on mange. The treatment period should not be longer than a month or two. The dog will probably not be resistant as the treatment is painless. This has worked well for me."

More Exact Measurements (excerpted from various emails on our Reader Question & Answer Section)

Ted replies, "A definitive recipe is add 1-2 tablespoon of borax per 500 cc of 1% hydrogen peroxide solution. To make a 3% hydrogen peroxide to 1%, roughly get one part of 3% H2O2 plus two parts of water. Then apply them on the dog. Wash with this solution daily, no rinsing. If it doesn't go away, I have found mites, or mange to have a large "beehive" hidden somewhere. In which case, quarantine the dog in a small area that is 100% sterile."

"Approximate measurements are 1 bottle of 500 of 3% H2O2, plus 1000 of the cc of water, plus heaping 3 tablespoons of borax. Stir until most of borax is dissolved. The borax is past the point of saturation here so you will see some borax around. Technically the concentration is around 1.5% H2O2, and this is a bit stronger because by the time we finish with it, the H2O2 gets reacted with other things, and by the time we used it is is usually ends up near a 1% solution anyway."

"You need to get put as much borax until it no longer dissolves in a pail of water and forms a precipitate. This is a saturated solution of borax. Add H2O2 to about 1% concentration to a pail of water. Soak the entire dog, several times. Keep the dog wet for some time. The borax will destroy the eggs from laying under the skin which causes the mange. Get some solution and spray or use this to wipe all floors so the dog will not get re infected. Repeat this every week when bathing.

This is not a perfect cure, but my dog now no longer has mange. My dog was completely cured. You can try other chemicals such as sodium perborate, which is more convenient since you don't need to add the hydrogen peroxide."

"The solution (borax or preferably sodium perborate) is to be applied AFTER the shampooing and rinsing. The sodium perborate should remain on the dog after the bath. You will not rinse this at all. It must remain on the dog throughout the day so that it will act continuously on the bugs."

"However, I do recommend a less toxic form of borax, which is sodium perborate if you can find one. The secret is that borax (plus hydrogen peroxide) will work better then most other remedies I have tried, this includes mineral oil, neem oil (no, neem oil does not kill the mange as effectively as sodium perborate) I have tried it in my "mange colonies", and commercial brands to kill insects don't work. Hydrogen peroxide DOES NOT KILL mange, I USED IT SIMPLY USED IT AS A CATALYST for ordinary borax in case you cannot obtain sodium perborate. Mineral oils simply prevent oxygen from reaching mange, but that didn't stop it. I have tried naphta, bentonite clays, DMSO, potassium permanganate, light fluid, etc. They all worked temporarily, and it just came back. I must make a strong statement that the formula (borax+h2o2 or sodium perborate) works bests and it is broad spectrum. You can use it to control mange, mites, fleas, and lyme disease (initiated by those crawly insects).

I have actually compared side to side with neem oil, mineral oil, apple cider vinegar and others here in Bangkok and this is the most wide spectrum cure I have found. Borax prevents denaturation of DNA/RNA in dogs and I currently use this as life extension for dogs. For example a ribose sugar, deoxyribose sugar, and various sugar that causes accelerated aging in dogs can be slowed down with supplementation of dogs indirectly when you do the borax wash. "

"Prepare peroxide 1% solution, add 2-3 tablespoon of borax to that cup. Stir and wait for a couple of minutes for the borax to dissolve. The formula doesn't require an exact science. The importance is to add enough borax until the solution is no longer soluble and well past saturation."

"...The reason why it is not working is YOU CANNOT RINSE THE DOG OF borax and peroxide solution with any shampoo or water. After bathing the dog, keep the dog that way, no drying no rinsing. This is why the dog has not improved. Also BORAX is added DIRECTLY to the 1% hydrogen peroxide solution and no water is added separately, otherwise the solution is too weak."

TED'S UPDATE7/12/2006: "I have reviewed all the dog's mange treatments both by my own tests and by many contributors. It appears that many people have trouble obtaining materials, such as sodium perborate hydrate, so I revised the remedy to hydrogen peroxide plus borax solution applied only once or so every week. The solution of sodium perborate hydrate is very much similar when borax and hydrogen peroxide is added. Some have either substituted hydrogen peroxide with benzoyl peroxide.

The problem about benzoyl peroxide is the upper limit by which you can use it without effect the dog as it is somewhat more toxic if given beyond a 10% concentration. 5% is usually a safe concentration. Benzoyl peroxide because of its toxicity is somewhat of an insecticide, while hydrogen peroxide is not, what it is in the original formulation is that it is a penetrant allowing the borax to go through the skin. Now some did not like hydrogen peroxide due to its limited supplies, so they make use of apple cider vinegar. For me a regular vinegar will do. Both a vinegar and hydrogen peroxide has two similarities. It is both a penetrant and when added with a safe insecticidal material such as borax, which has an toxicity on LD 50 equivalent to that of salt, this is the preferred method. However, one should not use boric acid since there are reported deaths associated with boric acid but not borax.

Boric acid is not recommended for use as it is much more toxic than borax. Borax's toxicity is about 3000 mg/kg, which is the equivalent toxicity to about that of salt. (check wikipedia). The idea is to make a solution of borax so that the solution can cover the entire body and penetrate through the skin of the dog to kill the demodex mites, for example. To use a spot treatment by pure powder will take an infinitely long time as it does not get to it through the dog's skin.

In some cases, people have tried neem oil, mineral oil. Both of these have similar effectiveness, but in different ways. Neem oil prevents the Demodex fleas from laying eggs by modifying their hormones, while mineral oils are moderately toxic only to the demodex eggs, not necessarily killing them. However, both are very limited based on my tests in really killing the insect. You see, borax will both kill the eggs, modifying the hormones and their eggs by drying them all at once. The weakness of borax is limited solubility and limited penetration of the skin which you need either vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, benzoyl peroxide (toxic), MSM or DMSO solution. Ideally 10% DMSO should be preferred.

Pine Sol has limited insecticidal effectiveness, being a contact insecticidal, and does not provide lasting killing power once it has evaporated and does not kill living fleas, but it does kill their eggs somewhat. Only a fairly concentrated solution works and it does not prevent re-laying of stray eggs by the dog. In other words, the use of neem oil, mineral oil, benzoyl peroxide, and vaseline will not prevent the recurring of mange since eggs are not just on the dog, but can be anywhere in the house. Therefore re-infection is at issue. The one magic that borax has over its neighbors is that the borax powder that the dogs leaves in the house will kill the eggs even after the dogs no longer has mange and re-infection is therefore next to impossible. However, borax has limited effect on killing the larger mites and fleas, but not mange.

I found that adding 1/8 teaspoon per liter of water of borax added to the dog's water will cause the larger fleas to dry up and die at the same time. My dog for some reason likes to eat something like more than 1 gram of the sodium perborate crystals whenever he feels sick and the fleas just die off. The borax modifies the dog's blood and kills the mange inside out. This is why borax, i.e., sodium perborate, is required for mange, but not anything else due to preventive re-infection of the mange by the powder of the borax that destroys the eggs where the dog sleeps and where it walks around throughout the house.

VASELINE: The problem about using vaseline as an insecticide is that it has limited killing of eggs, but its weakness is that it is not a penetrant, and therefore the frequency of applications will take at least once every other day. Additionally, the hair of the dog will prevent proper application.
Some have went so far as to not use a solution of borax with hydrogen peroxide as a rinse then followed likely, perhaps a borax powder after bath. On the argument of being effective only as a spot treatment. Since dogs do not have sweat glands, not using a rinse will prevent the borax from absorbing into the skin to kill the mange under its skin. So this is not going to work. You need both borax as an insecticide, the water as the solution which to spread it to the skin surface, and a reliable penetrant to get it through the skin, such as vinegar, msm, DMSO, or even hydrogen peroxide. Benzoyl peroxide is both a penetrant and insecticide, but at higher concentration is somewhat toxic for dogs and as a result you are pretty much limited by the maximum concentration not to exceed beyond 5% being a preferred safety. I would prefer to limit myself at 3%.
I therefore suggest, not to get you lost in the woods, is that whatever formulation you use, always stick with borax and borax derivatives, such as sodium perborate monohydrate being the main insecticidal chemicals for the dog.

Pyrethrum is o.k. but in very low concentration of about 0.1% - 0.2% to prevent skin irritation for the dogs near the skin infection areas. The second mix you need is always the penetrant and the third formulation is appropriate dilutions in water. To provide lasting killing effect, non of these chemicals should generally be non-volatile insecticidal mixtures, which unfortunately most recommended are, with exception of perhaps borax and bentonite. Bentonite causes eggs to dry, so they can be used also, but they have no insecticidal mixture as borax and borax can performs both killing the insect, modifying the hormones to prevent egg laying, becomes a stomach poison for the insect, and at the same time causes their eggs to dry up.

I therefore will remain very flexible about what penetrants you use including hydrogen peroxide, benzoyl peroxide (limited concentration), and vinegar. It must be noted that when formulating any mange it must be noted that they must be non-volatile and the chemicals should cause microscopic residues around the house so that re infection of mange is prevented, including mites and fleas.

I think this wraps up the basic theory and application of mange treatment, and hopefully other people will make a more effective formulations in the future at least equal or better than the original formula I have proposed. Just want to tell you that there are many ways you can treat mange, but the issue is one of toxicity, re infection, toxic levels, which portion kills it and how, and which is the penetrant (which is the key to it all).

Penetrant is important, the chemical must reach the target demodex under the skin. Usually hydrogen peroxide, vinegar, DMSO, and MSM will do that. It must be reminded again that borax, to work most effectively, must be prepared with the penetrant as a solution without washing it off, followed by a small amount of borax powder to be applied if you wish.

Other applications other than this such as using as purely powder form is NOT going to work."

500 cc = 1 pint or 16 ounces.

1000 cc = 1 quart or 32 ounces.

*******************************************************************************

I also found another remedy using lemon. The principle of both these remedies is the same; to dry out the Mange mites so that they could no longer live in her skin.

********************************************************************************

Topical Lemon Solution

3 Lemons/Qt. of boiling water
(or fresh, organic lemon juice)

Thinly slice 3 lemons and add to 1 quart boiling water
Let steep overnight
Strain and store in refrigerator
Pour or spray on dog’s patchy areas 2 X/day

***********************************************************************************

Lavender

10-15 drops high quality Lavender essential oil
½ oz. Almond or Jojoba oil

Apply twice/day to affected areas

Diet: Feed 100% grain free raw, whole food diet with addition of a good quality fish-body/wild salmon oil EFA and natural Vitamin E. Give 100 IU Vit E for every 1,000 mg of Salmon Oil.

If the animal is severely disabled/ill, or new to a raw diet, add a high quality digestive enzyme and probiotic supplement. If they are too ill to tolerate a raw diet, then feed a home-prepared cooked diet using fresh foods until they can tolerate raw. As much as possible, feed only pastured, organic, and grass-finished meats.

***********************************************************************************

For maintenence I found that these supplements were recommended to prevent Mange overgrowth once it is treated:

* Zinc, in the form of either raw, ground pumpkin seeds or chelated Zinc tablet, 10 to 30 milligrams/day


* Vitamin C, 250-1000mgs twice/day


* 100 to 400 IU of Vitamin E daily (discontinue use before surgery)


* ½ to 3 teaspoons of Lecithin/day
***********************************************************************************

Carmella's mange actually began drying up 2 days after she'd had the dip at the vet's and some of the scabbiness and dead skin began flaking off. I wondered whether I could give her a bath with her regular shampoo to wash away the excess debris. I called Dr. Norwood's office and spoke with Gwen who was answeing the phone and she told me that I should hold off on giving her any baths in between these treatment as it could water down the effectiveness of the dip.

It occurred to me that I better wait before tring the Borax and Hydrogen Peroxide because they recommend basically bathing the dog in it, so in the meantime I'm trying the lemon, just dabbing it on with a soaked paper towel. That shouldn't water down the effectiveness of the dip and hopefully it will help heal her faster.


Last night I found a really good deal at DickBlick.com for the cold-pressed Arches 140 Lb. watercolor paper block to start my Carmella series on. The pages are 12 X 16", so these paintings are going to be pretty substantial. They'll be a good size to put on a bedroom or livingroom wall. I can hardly wait to get started!

http://Giftbearer.etsy.com/

Return To The Big Dipper

This morning came early. I turned off my alarm clock and stumbled out of bed, got dressed and ready to take Carmella to the vet. My ride was here at exactly 8:00 am and we arrived at 8:05. The male vet tech seemed as if he'd just woken up himself, and blinked under the flourescent lights above the receptionist desk. The office seemed unusually quiet that time of morning and he came in to check Carmella in, then went to the back to tell someone that she was here. After a few more minutes in the waitingroom one of the twins emerged. It was Jocelyn. Vivienne who took me over there (and whose dog and two cats also go to that clinic) always gets the two of them mixed up. They really do look pretty much identical.

Jocelyn made small talk with us and a man came out with a 13 year old Maltese that didn't look a day over 6 or 7. When we commented on how young the dog looked he said, "Yes, it's the special food, and nutrients, and the doctor."

As we were called back I saw a man come out from one of the rooms with a tiny black and white puppy which was not much bigger than a soda can. I asked what kind it was and he told me it was a Bulldog, but its nose was a little longer than you usually see in a purebred bulldog. I commented that its nose was longer than most and that it was very cute, and the guy said, "It will probably tighten up when he gets older."

I thought he better hope it doesn't "tighten up" because he may be talking about hundreds or thousands of dollars in nasal surgery later on. Besides I generally think Bulldogs are ugly creatures that must have been created by man because God would never create such a thing, however the redeeming feature with this little fellow is that he didn't look much like a bulldog. Maybe he looked like a pitbull, but thankfully he did not have the appearance that somebody crammed its poor nose halfway into its head.

As Carmella and I went back into the room, Gail, the female vet tech came in and got her. I told her what had been happening with her mange increasing and the bacterial infection on her stomach not being impacted at all by the week of antibiotics. I also asked her to remind the vet that she would need something for the itching as well. Carmella was getting pretty raw already and I didn't want these areas to turn into wounds as well. That would add another problem on top of the one she already has, and I figured it's better to be safe than sorry.

"We don't normally give anything for itching", Gail said. "The dip should reduce the itching to some extent."

I reiterated that we really should not take any chances and that she shouldn't have to suffer over the course of the next 2 months if she doesn't have to. Gail semed to evade the request and then Vivienne asked her whether she could catch mange from the dog. Gail told her no, that only Sarcoptic Mange was contagious. She tended to go on about it longer than necessary, then produced a hand-out sheet. Vivienne didn't want it, and I already had one.

However, the one piece of information I did not already know but suspected was that dogs with this kind of reddish fur and light pigment are more susceptible to Mange, and so are white dogs with pink pigment. I'm thinking it must be that Melanin has some protective properties against the Mange mite. I'll have to see what studies I can find on that and on why.

We had some time to kill so we went to Borders, then to Marshall's across the same strip mall. I didn't find anything worth buying at either store, but looked through almost all the jewelry-making books and magazines, noticing how the tutorials in each were like songs on a CD; some good ones mixed with others I hated.

It was a foggy, misty day and somewhat cold out. Even after having breakfast and being out for a few hours I felt as though my brain was still asleep. My nose is still getting stuffed every so often and I think I'm still not fully well yet. I guess jewelry-making will have to wait a little longer.

Next on the agenda are the two seed pods waiting to be worked on once I'm back to normal again, with just a few minor things left to do; mainly assembly and putting the patina on them. There's a cool little feature I've added to the design that I think people will love, (but I'll keep that a surprise until I unveil them).

After we returned to the vet's office we spoke to the same vet tech again and she said Carmella was doing well but that they did decide to give her something for her itching because she didn't fully realize how much she was digging at herself until they looked at her closely. Dr. Norwood never came out to talk to us himself, but she told us that Carmella was probably genetically predisposed to mange and that it was autoimmune.

I asked whether there was anything that could help improve her immune system and she said that maybe fish oil possibly, and that whatever was good for the immune system in humans would probably work in dogs although not much research had been done in that area. She said that I was probably more knowledgeable about that than they were. They didn't know what to expect in a dog who'd survived Distemper.

I told her that I did remember from my reading on human immune issues that Magnesium was one thing that would help strengthen one's immune system. Apparently Pet Tabs do contain that, so I added that to the other stuff they were giving me.

Dr. Brantley should also know which things have that effect in dogs. I'll see if I can get him to resopond back now that she's had the procedure and this is something in his area of expertise. If we can manage to improve her immune function maybe that will prevent her from getting any more medical issues which are autoimmune.

Today's visit cost about $160.00, and there is more to come, so keep those donations coming, buy jewelry, or buy an ad on my blog. Carmella is going to need your help for awhile before she's home free. My natural gas bill is ridiculous this month and a possible cut-off looms on the horizon if the gas company is not satisfied with whatever arrangement I can come up with, but I also want to pay off as much on Carmella's vet bill as I can.

http://Giftbearer.etsy.com/

Carmella's New Fashion Statement

Things have been pretty uneventful lately for the most part but finally there are a few things of interest to report.

I got Carmella a muzzle at Petsmart for those times when I want to leave her out of the kitchen for awhile with me while I'm in the computer room or when she is on my bed and I don't want her to chew me or the computer wires.

I'm hoping that this will get her out of the habit of chewing (especially on people) when she figures out she can't do it. I put it on her right when she gets too rambunctious and starts chewing and nothing I say is getting her to stop.

I've noticed that although she tries to get it off and looks kind of disconcerted for awhile, eventually she does stop trying to chew.

I'm hoping that if I pet her when she can't chew me and repeat that often enough it will break the habit altogether at some point.

Today when I was outside with her throwing sticks for her to fetch she really chomped down on me pretty hard while she was jumping up into the air indescriminately trying to grab anything she could even if she could not reach the stick. She almost bit through my shoe once.

There are these berries she loves to eat that grow on the ornamental edging grass that surrounds my back porch and she alternated between eating those and chasing sticks. Luckily they aren't poisonous. She seems to like those even better than her dog food, LOL. I think she might be a vegetarian by nature. It's interesting that she loves things like apples and berries.

A woman posted on one of the Distemper messageboards who is from Texas and she and her husband have a small animal shelter. Several of their dogs have Distemper and one dog has died from it. They are worried that all the others might catch it too because they have not been able to get a vet to do the NDV injection into the Central Nervous System of their own dog, (a Boston Terrier) who was diagnosed almost a year and a half ago.

I gave her Dr. Muller's contact information and they have been in contact but so far their local vet who did the part of the treatment for the body has not been willing to inject the NDV into the CNS, so her dog has been getting worse and worse. He has signs of impending blindness and is starting to have some problems with coordination.

Since she is not able to travel here, I sent her some listings of vets in Texas and also told her to point out to the vets there who are reluctant to do this that Carmella is a living example proving that this treatment will stop the disease and that there can be no negative effects as long as the procedure is done as directed.

If any of you readers live in Texas and know of a vet who might be willing to try this please let me know and I'll pass that contact information onto this woman. It will be great if her dog can have the same chance as Carmella to overcome this disease, and it could prevent her other dogs from catching it also.

I am working on developing a list of vets who will do this so that when newly diagnosed dogs come along they can get help quickly without having to wait until it's too late.

A few days ago I made a small sale in my Etsy shop; a pair of my Haiku earrings made with nicely polished wood, oxidized copper wire, and (in this pair) Turquoise.

I am now down to 3 pairs remaining and I would love to sell the rest of them and make some new ones. If you like these and are interested in a particular stone at the bottom please don't hesitate to ask. I am glad to do special orders. These are great if you want something really nice for a good price. They are reasonably-priced enough to get a pair for several friends and/or family members. Just think; you could have alot of your holiday shopping taken care of.

I offer free gift-wrapping to those who would like it throughout the season. Just convo me on Etsy and let me know in the comment section when you purchase that you'd like them gift-wrapped. I just bought 3 nice rolls of ribbon today in moss green, rich bright red, and a white with sparkly irridescent blue and pink speckles.

I also got an interesting knitting spool that is a little wider than the wooden ones I have for wire and am planning on trying some new and interesting things with that while I wait for my rubber stamps to be completed, and in-between construction of the seedpods.

One more donation has come in for Carmella's vet bill recently. I will need to put another payment towards it again soon, so thank you everyone who has contributed, and those who haven't, keep it coming! Every little bit helps. You can also buy jewelry for your loved-ones in my Etsy store, and/or buy a $5.00 ad slot on my blog to help Carmella.

http://Giftbearer.etsy.com/

Home-Safe and Sound-Distemper Virus Gone!

Carmella is home and bursting with life, thanks to the two vets who had the courage and compassion to think outside the box and to do whatever it took to make her well!

She looks a little funny with her shaved neck, but the hair will grow back.

When I came to pick her up the nurse who'd been assigned to Carmella, Cecelia, came in and said, "I just want to tell you, lady that you should give yourself a pat on the back for what you're doing for this dog. She is a sweety, and I don't think many other owners would have gone as far as you did."

I asked her if Dr. Muller had done the procedure on the other dog with Distemper and she said she didn't know and I told her I hope he did soon because I want others to be saved too. As much as I love Carmella I can imagine how much others in the same situation want their dogs to overcome this disease and they should have the same chance.

Dr. Muller was off today and will be out of the office next week but Cecelia asked me to call on Monday and she would find out about a follow-up appointment for Carmella.

After I had dinner and fed Carmella her kibble I opened up a big Granny Smith apple, as promised, peeled, cut it into sections and gave it to her as a reward for getting through all this. She gobbled it down enthusiastically and I took some very cute pictures of her.

It seems fitting that she should get an apple given the apple's symbolism throughout history of the acquisition of knowledge, and of stepping out on faith, and her eating it was almost a sort of communion which indicates new life, nourishment, (and on an even more global level) opening the door to new frontiers.

Carmella's expenses are adding up, so your donations and/or purchases are still needed to help with her vet bill. Please use the donation button in my sidebar, purchase handcrafted jewelry from my Etsy store, or buy a $5.00 ad on my blog like the banners you see to your right in the area which says "Are you in my top spots?" through Scratchback.

Also, please share the information here with your vets, let them know that this cure is real and that the demand for it is growing. No dog needs to die of Distemper or become irreperably disabled any longer if vets do this early enough in the disease process. If you work for or with a shelter please tell them about this option.

http://Giftbearer.etsy.com/

Carmella-Cam Coming Soon!

I've decided to let the whole world wittness Carmella's recovery. Just a quick post before I go to sleep, as somebody could be coming to hook up my wireless system as early as 8:00 am!

I figured I better start this before Carmella has her procedure so that readers can see the before and after footage that still pictures can't quite illustrate alone.

The webcam I'll be using is a Linksys Wireless-G Internet Home Monitoring Camera that works with a wireless router.

Today I spent some time throwing sticks for Carmella in the back yard and got some more pictures of her.

She fell a few times, but is still holding her own.

Tonight she has been jerking, and then I noticed her toenails were very long and needed to be clipped so I had to really wrestle with her to get that done. She acted as though she was being killed even though it doesn't hurt.

She also managed to find a tear in the linoleum and pull off a piece about a foot long, to my horror!

I had to spray some bad-tasting stuff on the area to see if I could keep her from picking at it any more but that doesn't always deter her.

In just a few more days I should hear from Dr. Muller as to when he can get the NDV and do the procedure. Stay tuned! You may be seeing live feed of Carmella's motion starting today or tomorrow. All Carmella, all the time.

http://Giftbearer.etsy.com/

Ding, Ding, Ding! We May Have A Yes!

I don't want to jump the gun, but I believe I've found a vet to complete Carmella's treatment!

While looking over that recent list I decided to start with clinics I had been to before even if it was many years ago and I called Briarcliff Animal Hospital. This was a place I used to take my dog to when I was a teenager, a dog named Hector who was half German Shepherd and half Collie. I had her from the time I was about 8 years old until I was 17 or 18. You may be wondering why a female dog was named Hector. Well, my mother brought her home one day after having been told by the owner of the mother with a litter of puppies that she was a male. She was so covered with hair you really couldn't tell by turning her over, and it wasn't until she was 6 months old when she went into heat that we really knew she was a female. When all the male dogs in the neighborhood started lining up in the front yard and we found drops of blood on the kitchen floor that answered that!

I remember first when my family moved to Atlanta from Baltimore we took her to Dr. Tyree who then worked at Briarcliff Animal Hospital. At the time it was a tiny building not much bigger than the one Dr. Norwood works in now. Dr. Tyree was great and the place was within walking distance from my house. When me and my friend Charlotte who lived down the street found injured animals in the woods; stray dogs, baby birds, etc. we'd walk over there and take them to her. Usually there was no charge for these wild animal consultations, and when an animal died she never charged anything for the emergency care to try to save it.

At 15 I started volunteering for a local dog breeder on weekends and after school a few nights a week to help with her obedience classes and show training classes. This breeder took all 25 Irish Setters to Dr. Tyree also.

At some point Dr. Tyree moved on and then in her place came Dr. Hedge. I had forgotten about Dr. Hedge until the male receptionist mentioned her. I think I may not have taken my dog to her for near as long, and as I remember she was not quite as open to treating these wild animals for free, and since the dog breeder already had a paid assistant and couldn't afford to pay two I had very little moneyt for vet bills so I didn't go in there as much when she came on the scene.

Monday morning when I called the receptionist listened to Carmella's story and he said that Dr. Hedge was still there and that there was one other vet, Dr. Muller. I told him all about Dr. Sears' treatment for Distemper and how well Carmella had responded to the injection of NDV in the body, and how I was having trouble finding any vet who would do this second part. He told me he'd ask the two vets there and get back to me.

I actually thought it would be Dr. Hedge if anyone from there, but in an hour or so I got a phone call and it was the same male receptionist on the line. He said he'd spoken with Dr. Muller and that he wanted to know whether I'd tried Loving Touch since they did holistic veterinary medicine, and I told him that the guy there was almost going to do it but then got cold feet and backed out.

What the receptionist didn't tell me right away is that Dr. Muller had said he'd do the procedure if there looked like there were no others who would! He said it almost in passing and I had to do a double-take.

"Really? He said that?!!!" I could hardly keep myself from jumping up and screaming. Not wanting to jinx anything I tried my best to remain calm. "Well I've been going through this long list, and I've checked 5 board certified neuro vets, 2 of them at UGA and one at GVS. I've asked at least 20 vets in the past month since she's been sick and was making my way through this current list..."

"UGA and GVS already turned her down? Well that's good enough for me" said the receptionist. "I'll go back and let him know all this."

"Do I need to set up an appointment for him to see her?"

"Well let me see what he says and I'll have him call you himself."

I was floored. "Thank you! Thank you! This is such a relief! I didn't know what we were going to do."

"You're welcome" he said, after a brief hesitation, a bit self-conscious by my show of emotion. It seemed as though he was smiling on the other end of the line.

I didn't hear anything later that day, and nothing by around 1:00 pm yesterday, so I called back to see if Dr. Muller was in and if he had indeed gotten the receptionists' message. I had to leave a message on his voicemail. Then around 5:00 pm the call came in.

"Hello, Ms. Charlington?"

"Ms. Carlington; yes this is she."

"This is Dr. Muller from Briarcliff Animal Hospital."

"Oh yes! Great!"

"I understand you want to have a spinal injection done on your dog who has Distemper?"

"Yes. Did the receptionist tell you all about it?"

"Yes, I think it was David"

"The other receptionist told me she thought it was Dwight"

"Well it could have been him. He said you moved here from California?"

"Oh, no not me. It was Dr. Sears who moved from California. I live here. Dr. Sears who developed the treatment is retired and he moved from California to Utah."

"So it's Newcastle Disease Virus Vaccine that's injected into the spinal canal?"

"Yes, into the Foramen Magnum; the same way they do a spinal tap."

"That's interesting. Some vets are now starting to give epidurals for surgery these days, so that isn't so far off from the way that is done."

"And Dr. Sears can give you exact instructions for this. He told me he'd work with any vet I work with on this."

"And he has never had any problems with the dogs he's treated?"

"Well there was one he had problems with, but it was too far gone by the time he tried to save it, in the full paralysis stage. The others were successful. I'm hoping that this will be done on Carmella soon before it's too late for her. She could still be saved, but she's been getting worse neurologically."

"Oh, she's already got neurological symptoms?"

"Yes, myoclonic jerking in the right front leg".

"Oh, seizures", he said as though making a mental note to himself.

"She's a beautiful dog and otherwise healthy. The first injection cured every other symptom in the body. Her paw pads started healing within two days afterwards, and two weeks later they were completely healed."

"Oh really! Cool!"

"Yes, since Newcastle Disease is related to Distemper but in birds Dr. Sears just theorized that it would work, stumbled upon it and decided to try it, and it worked. The manufactured stuff is made by Merial, but Dr. Sears also came up with a formula for a dog-based serum."

"Is that antibodies?"

"I'm not sure, but it could be."

"Yes, I bet it's antibodies, spinned down. This is quite interesting. Did you check with Loving Touch?"

"Yes, there was one guy there who was going to but then got freaked out because it was "experimental" and talked himself out of it."

"How come your regular vet wasn't able to do it?"

"He's never done a spinal tap in his life and there'd be too much risk that he'd hit the spinal cord."

"Oh."

"Don't you pretty much have to do it by feel to knw what you're doing."

"Yes, true. They don't always teach that at least in any depth in all vet schools."

"I know. He has never done one and I can imagine if you don't know how far to push the needle it's not something you can just do from a book. You had to have had some actual practice to really know how."

"Yes, I see. Well I've done it, not tons of times, but I'm capable of doing them. I just wish a neuro vet could do it. They do that kind of thing all the time. I'm not afraid to do it myself, but I just want to make sure I don't make her worse neurologically than she already is."

"Well, that's the thing that really kills me. The most qualified board certified neuro vets won't seem to touch this and they're willing to let her die rather than do something new to save her. If somebody doesn't she's going to eventually die. They know that and still they won't do it. She has had no side-effects from the first injection, only positive results. Her coat is shiny, she got rid of the pneumonia, her pads are healed, she doesn't have crud in her eyes, and she's eating, drinking, and very active, just like a normal puppy. If you didn't see her jerking you might not even know there was anything wrong with her. She looks good, but the ironic thing is the virus is still in the Central Nervous System and the neuro symptoms are getting worse. Do you want me to bring her in for a preliminary appointment?"

"Yes, that would be a good idea, but let me call Dr. Sears and find out all about this, and I'll call you afterwards. I'll call him around 10:00 or 11:00 am tomorrow morning and then get back to you."

We got off the phone and I felt stunned. It had all happened rather quickly, but I was glad because that probably meant this guy will take action. I think he gets it that we don't have all the time in the world and that each day she goes on without the treatment the virus damages more of her brain. There's only one solution and that's to kill the virus. Then she can look forward to a normal life, this will all be behind her, and the black cloud will be gone. Things can only get better from there.

http://Giftbearer.etsy.com

Gift Day

Isn't it interesting how things come in sometimes just at the right time! I received this cute little purple star necklace I won in a blog giveaway by Ashley Spatula at http://ashleyspatula.etsy.com/ These each retail for $14.00 and come in various colors.

I also received in the same package some sort of CD-R that looks like it has 3 songs from http://www.sarahmacband.com/ which I haven't listened to yet but will soon.

Thanks, Ashley for the great gifts!

Also, I have now received the PMC I ordered and the molding compound. Now all I'm waiting for are the custom rubber stamps and I'll be all set to start my new line of jewelry!

I woke up surprisingly calm and renewed this morning. It may have been because I took some pain medication last night and the quality of my sleep was better. My head was killing me and my body was inflamed when I finally hit the hay, but since I awoke bright-eyed and bushy-tailed I decided to try to take some pictures of Carmella in the morning light. We were out in the backyard for about 3 hours.

Carmella was in a rambuncious mood and insisted on chewing my hands, arms, and shoes, or dive-bombing me taking a running start. She was not interested in chewing on pine cones after awhile and she quickly got bored chasing sticks, so I wrestled around with her and that seemed to finally tire her out enough so that she sat calmly sprawled across my lap and let me pet her for a good 20 minutes without the incessant gnawing on me. I got several really good pictures of her and tried to get some interesting angles other than just the traditional dog poses. Quite a number of them taken over the several-hour period had to be deleted because they were too blurred due to her moving around. I did get a few good action shots though in which the blur did not really detract from the photo.

I noticed that she was still falling every so often and it was sometimes her back leg that gave out, not always her front right. Even so, it was enjoyable for her to be active outdoors and it was a special time for both of us to just sit quietly. I'm rarely up that early these days and I'd already had an omelet and my iced coffee before going out there with Carmella.

There were some tufts of pine needles lying around amongst the leaves, sticks, and pinecones and the way the light was hitting the tops of things I thought shooting some holiday cards this time of morning might be a good idea.

There was no word today from Dr. Norwood's office, so I took the opportunity to take care of some other things that needed to be done with the jewelry street team I run. I found some resources on advertising that might be of use to the team, checked the forum, and followed up on some e-mails and convos.

I am beginning to gather some National news media contacts and will be collecting more over the weekend.

Other than that I want to make a point of spending some quality time with Carmella. When I came into the kitchen tonight she did something really cute I've never seen her do before. I wish I had been able to get a picture of it but she only stayed that way for about 2-3 seconds. She stood up on her haunches in that "beg" position that some dogs do and balanced. If I can teach her to do that on command it will be so cool! I sure hope her back legs hold on and that the jerking or incoordination won't prevent her from doing things like that. She is so intelligent! I bet I could teach her to do lots of neat tricks! I'm working on getting her to stay currently. She gets so hyped up that she doesn't always listen and will get up and walk away or come towards me before she's supposed to, but she is getting the concept.

http://Giftbearer.etsy.com/