September greeted us with the discovery that three of our rescues were heartworm positive and needed to be treated. This led to an online heartworm preventative awareness campaign and, of course, more fundraisers … We also said goodbye to one of our special boys whose mother made him a “lucky one” … and provided the soundtrack to a video of lots of other lucky dogs like him.
April was nothing short of mind-boggling for us. We were at capacity and already struggling with vet bills when six new desperate rescues arrived.
By Kasey Perritt Pippa came to live with us as a foster 4 days before Christmas. She was only a foster until around New Years because we knew she was supposed to be ours. She had been with mama Donna since August, battling one of the worst cases of heartworms the rescue had ever seen. […]
Dixie and Scruffy’s story is a lesson in not only giving your dog(s) monthly heartworm preventative but in making sure they are tested regularly. Tests can be negative when worms first appear. This is why your vet insists that tests must be done yearly before doses are prescribed. The earlier it is caught, the better chance they stand to overcome them completely.
By Janeen Langley
Shortly after adopting these two wonderful dogs from Donna in 2006, we learned they were both positive for heartworms. Although they had tested negative during their stay at the rescue and even though we never missed a dose of their preventative, they still came down with them. It is possible that the original test was done when the heartworms had just started and were not bad enough yet to cause a positive test. Whatever the reason, and without blaming anyone or anything, we began treatment with our vet. We loved these two and wanted to save their lives.
The hard part was keeping them relatively quiet. Our vet is excellent and advised us we could take them for their usual daily walks in the neighborhood, but said they should not extend longer than 10 minutes. They were not to run or get excited, which could increase their heart rates. This was not an easy task with two energetic Jack Russells who were used to being active.
After a series of treatments and an extended period of being somewhat quiet, we were given the okay by our vet to turn them loose to do whatever they wanted- run, jump, chase squirrels and take long walks. It was a great day and one we will never forget.
Help us spread the word about the plight of our dogs and many more. Please, feel free to share the stories in this series with others.
If you would like to help more, please feel free to donate towards our heartworm treatment fund. Just click the Donate button below and enter an amount of your choice. Please, know that every penny counts.
We would like you to be and stay negative.
That seems like a step backwards for a rescue who tries our best to remain positive, even when the odds are stacked against us. But it’s very important this time that we all be negative …. for heartworms, that is.
Every month tends to deal us one little medical blow or another with our dogs. It’s exhausting, but it comes with the territory. In September alone, we found out that three of our babies tested positive for heartworm: Dixie, Diamond and Jax. And poor Hannah still needs help.
Dixie
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Diamond
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We would like to tell you this is the first time we’ve had a heartworm positive dog. It’s not. In fact, we have at least a couple a year who need to go through treatments. Sam and Millie just completed theirs a few weeks ago and, heartbreakingly, we lost Clarisse because of heartworm earlier this year.
We are blessed that these three are not as bad as some of the cases we’ve had in the past; cases whose stories we will be sharing over the next week or so. Jax is in the early stages and still very young; we will take the natural route with him. Dixie and Diamond are a little more advanced and will require the slow-kill process. We have had to take the quick-kill route before – and we hope we never have to do that again.
Many dog owners still believe that heartworm testing and preventative is not a necessity. Some folks are convinced that it’s just a ploy by the big drug companies and veterinarians to sell us on stuff we don’t need. Even those who do give their dogs preventative often think that it’s OK to take a break from it in the colder months when mosquitoes are not prevalent. And, of course, everyone thinks: “It won’t happen to our dog.”
We’re here to tell you that it’s definitely necessary. We have no drugs to sell you and nothing to gain. We just have the heartbreak of dealing with the aftermath of people who believe the above and, sadly, people who, when they inevitably find out their dog is heartworm positive after all, abandon them at the shelter because it’s cheaper to euthanize them that way than to treat them.
Help us spread the word about the plight of our dogs and many more. Please, feel free to share the stories in this series with others.
If you would like to help more, please feel free to donate towards our heartworm treatment fund. Just click the Donate button below and enter an amount of your choice. Please, know that every penny counts.
We hope the series is educational and personal; it’s not designed to be negative in anyway … except for heartworm, of course. 😉
