Danielle

Sorry for the lateness of my update, the dog is still alive and doing well, but I'm yet to hear what the final outcome was of why it happened. As soon as I find out what it was I'll be sure to let u guys know! Thank you so much for your kind words and prayers! You guys are awesome!

It does sound like a cane toad, but do cane toads cause massive swelling? She said the dog vomited to begin with, was pawing at it's mouth, swelled up and it's tongue turned blue. She was thinking snake but I thought obstruction. I just hope they get her seen to fast enough. And a big thank you to the lovely Doler who just rang a minute ago to offer assistance! You are wonderful and very thoughtful! Thank you!

Ok I'm back! Someone managed to get in touch with her husband and he's racing home from work to take her to the vet now. Thank dog! Doggy is currently propped up on the couch with frozen peas on her face, she's being held up in a sitting position to help her breathe. She's had the phenergan. Will update as soon as I know what's going on. Please send healing vibes for this bitch, she's got a litter of pups. Thanks to everyone who replied and gave advice, you are all so wonderful!

I spoke to her, she's got phenergan, she's giving it to her now, I just hope she doesn't choke on it! Poor doggy! My poor friend is a wreck!

PF I'll ring her and ask. What kind of AHs are suitable for dogs? Suggestions? RP she can't get thru to her vet. I'll try mine. I'll see if she knows anyone that can help, she can't get onto any of her mates at all! I'm freaking out!

Is there anyone on the northside of Brisbane who can help? A friend of mine who lives out at Wamuran (past Caboolture) has a bitch in respiratory distress! It can't breathe, it's tongue is blue, it's tongue and mouth and face is all swollen and it is weak and drooling! She can't get it to the vet as her hubby has the car at work, he left his phone at home and can't be contacted! She has tried to get a vet out with no success. I'm two hours drive away from her so I cannot help. Is there anyone local to that area who could please help out? I know it's a big ask but we are desperate. The dog needs help! She lives too far out for taxi service and there are no neighbors within walking distance to help. Please call me on 0447000523 if you can help! Thank you!

That's awful! Poor honey! I'm glad she is okay, poor girl. I've had this happen to me many times especially when riding my horse. Once I was out riding my Arab who was a flighty bugger and we got rushed by two crossbreds. Of course my Arab freaked out and bolted like a mad thing with me desperately trying to steer him and pull him up. We were on the road so it couldve ended up very bad for me if there had been a car coming. I left a note in the ladies letter box telling her off and leaving my number, of course I got no response. I avoided riding on that street for about six months until I bought my quarterhorse. He's a lit calmer and self assured so one day I decided to ride down there again. Once again the dogs came charging out and nipped at his heels, he stood still and double barreled one of the dogs, they took off back into their yard and the owner came out yelling at me for letting my horse kick her dog! I politely told her that her effing dogs need to be in their effing yard and if the wanted her dogs heads to remain on their bodies she had better keep them secured when I ride past as my horse wouldn't put up with being attacked. We moved shortly after so I have no idea if she did indeed keep them locked up or not.

It's not about the mess they make, it's about shedding the virus. A bat with hendra may do it's business without shedding the virus. Stress that animal and it's immune system will weaken therefore the virus will be shed into the droppings. So the thing is we need to avoid stressing those animals to lower the amount of virus they are shedding. Make sense?

It's not so much the bats straying into populated areas, but more so humans encroaching onto their land. Sadly development of land is causing bats and humans into closer proximity to one another. Culling bats won't help and will only exacerbate the problem. No you cant quaratine the bats but you can cull the ones straying from their 'native habitat' into populated areas - apparently the fruit growers had done that in the past and the bats stayed away probably back in the wild but once they were stgopped from culling one or two whole colonys moved into areas they hadnt been before. And now that natural disaster has driven them into areas where people live still cannot see why they are not culled like kangaroos and other natives that wander into to towns and cities.

As I've said, the virus lies dormant and can be shed years later. Dusty was a ticking timebomb. As yet we still don't know if canines can transfer the virus to humans so it's better to err on the side of caution.

Dusty the kelpie has been PTS as further tests concluded he was indeed a danger to his family. Rest In Peace pupper.

They know how the virus works in horses and humans, it's not unlikely that it would do the same to another infected mammal. And why on earth would the authorities risk human fatalities just for the sake of one dog? I love my dogs just as much as anyone else here, but there's no way I'd risk my child, my husband, myself or my local community for the sake of one dog. Nope, no way at all. The point you seem to be missing lavendergirl, us the fact that this virus kills people and fast. We have NO treatment at all, other than to try to alleviate symptoms or turn to life support, that's it. And as ice already stated a few times on this thread, culling the bats is a pointless exercise. I'll repeat, bats are the most prolific animal on the face of the planet, cull one colony and it will recolonise within days. You may as well say cull all green ants, impossible, pointless and a waste of time, energy and money. We need to focus in a vaccine for horses and dogs first and foremost to cut out the intermediate host, then a vaccine for humans if need be.

The reason for putting the dog down is pretty clear. Once infected a host may recover and go into remission but the virus will sit dormant in the cells of the body. Once the host is stressed or the immune system gets low due to another reason, the virus will awaken and ravage the body again. The virus attacks either the respiratory system causing pulmonary edema / septic pneumonia, or it will attack the brain causing encephalitis or meningitis. The inflammation and acute swelling of the brain can indeed cause rabies like symptoms. The victim is in excruciating pain, disoriented and can be aggressive. So in conclusion the affect of hendra virus on a dog would not be unlike a rabid animal, therefore humane destruction is the safest method for the dog, it's family, and the local community. Not to mention, if the dog does get sick again it will shed more virus, possibly infecting it's family or other animals on the property. I don't understand why people are finding this so hard to comprehend! I know it's sad for the dog, but we aren't talking about kennel cough here, Hendra Virus is Australias very own version of Ebola, the mortality rate and speed of the virus is comparitably similar to Ebola, it's not something to be played with!

The reason they won't cull the bats has nothing to do with the greenies etc. Believe it or not, bats are the most prolific animal on the face of the planet, they are more common than ants. There is no point in culling colonies, they would re colonise within a few days, it's a pointless exercise. Ben Cunneen was my vet, he did the EI shots and microchipping on my horse Zac, sadly Hendra virus killed him a few years ago. His assistant who contracted Hendra virus but survived is still sick, she suffers chronic pain and fatigue, she has never fully recovered and lives one day at a time. The virus could come back and claim her life at anytime and she's fully aware of this. It's incredibly sad. The only thing we can do is work on a vaccine. Culling bats won't work. A friend of mine works for the CSIRO and has told us that a vaccine for horses is the best measure as it cuts out the middle host, therefore protecting both horses AND humans.

The hendra virus Is a retrovirus which lies dormant but can reappear and rear it's ugly head again. When a virus like this comes back, the host then" sheds" the virus, making the virus contractable to those around it. This is why the recovered horse was put to sleep and it's probably why the dog will be put to sleep too. A man in mackay contracted hendra virus and recovered, only for it to come back a year later and claim his life. All this information I got from a Hendra Virus Seminar run by the CSIRO, Biosecurity QLD and the DPI a week ago. The dog should be pts.