Borderhall Little Bitof Soul
"Bethany"

Sire:             Aust/Amer Ch Borderhall Soul Mate HIC
Dam:            Amer Ch Borcat Superstar
DOB:            23th September, 1998
Call Name:  Bethany
Colour:        Black & White
CERF

Bethany was from Merlin and Samantha's first litter.  She had 4 sisters and all of them were healthy and happy baby puppies.  All five were vaccinated with one of the multi vaccines at 7 weeks of age.  Ten days later the other four were doing fine but Bethany became very ill.  She started out with a very high temperature, a swollen and very hot back hock joint and she was very lethargic.  Within a matter of days the pain had progressed from her back leg up into her spine and she could not get up or walk at all.  She had feeling in her back legs but could not use them. 

X-rays showed nothing and all the symptoms looked like Encephalitis.  She was put on a high dose of antibiotics and slowly recovered over 7 days.  She did well for 2 weeks and then went through a relapse which lasted about 5 days.  She then had 3 weeks of being well and then had another relapse that lasted about 2 days.

Since then she has not had any relpase of not being able to walk but she does appear to have a compromised immune system.  Other factors are that she is extremely small (she is now 23 months of age and is about the size of a sheltie).  She gets recurring periods of stomach upset and having various problems such as colitis.  She also has a recurring sinus problem that is much worse during the spring time and appears somehow to be allergy related.  Also over her first year she gradually went mostly deaf.  She will be BAER tested soon to determine the exact extent of her hearing.

After a lot of searching and talking to different vets and vet schools it appears that the problem may have been caused by some type of very rare reaction to her first vaccination.  We are continuing to research to find out as much as we can about a problem called Vaccinosis.

After changing Bethany over to a totally natural diet there has been a noticable difference in her.  She is eating well and has not had the stomach upsets that she did in the past.  She has been off all medication for a number of months now.  Bascially any antibiotics tried on her have had no apparent effect other than to upset her stomach.  We are now trying alternative methods for her problems with seeming success.

Bethany has stayed with me as I know that I have the responsibility as a breeder to give her all the love and care that she needs for a happy life.  So far she has survived through many battles and is a very happy girl who enjoys life.   As we struggle through her various trials we hope that we may find answers that may help others.  While ever Bethany has good quality of life she will have a very special and permanent home here at Borderhall.

Bethany has one blue and one brown eye but her vision is fine and she passed her CERF at 6 weeks of age.

Snow puppy

Just a note here that Bethany's full brother MacCleod had exactly the same symptoms that started exactly 10 days after his first vaccination which was exactly the same time frame as Bethany.  In each case the vaccine used was one of the multiple vaccines.  The advice I have constantly received in my research into vaccinosis is to NOT use multiple vaccines but rather to use single vaccines split up over time.