Canine Distemper outbreak in Texas Big Cat Sanctuary

In June, when I wrote about Canine Distemper affecting big cats, I didn't expect it to have United States implications.

(image from Wikimedia commons, not one of the tigers affected)

There's a wildlife refuge in North Texas, In-Sync Exotics Wildlife Rescue and Education Center, they've lost their 6th tiger to distemper; they think it may have been spread by raccoons clambering about the outdoor cages. According to the Washington Post article, there is a distemper vaccine for ferrets and for canines; "the canine one is unsafe for big cats, and there's no evidence of the ferret vaccine being effective in the cats."

The refuge is still open, evidently, and the virus poses no threat to humans. But what a tremendous shame, all of those beautiful animals. According to another article on the Dallas-Fort Worth CBS web site, 15 other cats are currently suffering from canine distemper. I hope that they're somehow able to pull through.

Vaccinations: helping and hurting

Vaccinations can be a touchy subject, both in the human world and the dog one.

In general, I feel that they help more than they hurt. When they hurt, they hurt profoundly, as Roxanne who writes Champion of My Heart has found out when her dog, Lilly, had an extreme negative reaction to her routine rabies vaccination (500 days ago, as of June 4). Lilly has been in medical distress since then, has almost died, and has had one severe relapse. Roxanne writes that Lilly can never have another vaccine in her life.

(picture from Wikimedia commons. You'll see "why a tiger?" after the jump)

Doberman Health: Parvo

Back in November, the Doberman Assistance Network took in three puppies that they suspected had parvo. This may or may not have been the case (I guess there was some shady vetting going on down there), but it occurred to me that I haven't really talked about the bogeyman Parvo here. It's not a Doberman problem, specifically, so much as a dog problem. A puppy problem. I have heard it said that Dobermans and Rottweilers might be more sensitive to the parvovirus, though, and suffer more severe symptoms.

So, what is Parvo?

(little Bluebell, who pulled through just fine, from the Doberman Assistance Network Facebook page.)