Pet Parents Share The Devastating Loss Of Their Doggo Ronin To The Distemper Virus
In just three and a half weeks, a highly contagious viral canine disease called distemper took away the life of a healthy doggo called Ronin.
Dubai resident Katie Guthrie shared her story to warn other pet parents against the devastating virus. The Guthrie family, who live in DIP, were pet parents to Ronin and Skye, Ronin has passed and Skye has always been diagnosed with the contagious disease, ‘we still have Skye with us but we don’t know how long as she is following in the exact footsteps of her brother symptom wise.’
Ronin was vaccinated, and just a few weeks short of his booster shot.
“PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE if you have a dog get their antibodies checked”
Katie added that the virus ‘is absolutely devastating, destroys the body, and I want to prevent as many pets and owners to go through what we have”
3 1/2 weeks ago, our sweet babies were diagnosed with distemper. We have done everything we could, spent so much money (which we would do all over again), given them all the love we could, and lost our sweet boy, Ronin, this morning. We still have Skye with us but we don’t know how long as she is following in the exact footsteps of her brother symptom wise.
Our pups had gotten their vaccinations. They were 15 months old and a week from getting their booster. We did everything we were supposed to and they had zero antibodies against distemper (which we found out after they were diagnosed). PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE if you have a dog get their antibodies checked. This virus is absolutely devastating, destroys the body, and I want to prevent as many pets and owners to go through what we have.
Canine distemper has a mortality rate of about 80%
It’s a highly contagious viral disease that infects dogs and affects their respiratory, gastrointestinal and central nervous systems. It’s not transmissible to humans and it currently has no cure. According to Modernvet DXB, the mortality rate is extremely high, about 80%.
Vet Care Dubai reshared an article about the disease and stated “veterinary surgeons in the UAE are urging dog owners to have their pets vaccinated and not to socialize with other animals after reported outbreaks of the deadly canine disease distemper.”
According to The National, there have been a number of distemper cases reported in Dubai Hills.
What are the symptoms you should look out for?
Symptoms include watery/pus-like eye discharge, fever, nasal discharge, coughing, lethargy, reduced appetite, vomiting, tremors, problems with walking or balancing, and seizures.
What should dog owners in Dubai do?
Get your dog checked at the vet. Make sure your dog has all its vaccinations and they’re up to date. When walking your dog, avoid direct contact with other dogs.
Take these extra measures to keep your best friend safe. #distemper #caninedistemper #dogsvirus #virusoutbreak #dubai #vet #vetclinic pic.twitter.com/6S7wALibkV
— Modernvet DXB (@ModernvetDXB) May 25, 2022
