We’ve been giving our dogs heartworm preventative every month for as long as I’ve been alive. In our world, dogs don’t get heartworm, and if they ever did, they’d die. After all, it’s a WORM! In a HEART!
Well, we adopted Brewer from Tennessee this past spring. In the south, as well as in rescue situations in general, you never know that the animal has been cared for in the same way you would care for him. Brewer tested negative for worms when he arrived, but it takes about six months for new cases to show up in tests. Unfortunately, he tested positive this month.
It turns out, dogs don’t just die, and that’s a huge PHEW! But it does involve some pretty harsh treatment, and once we go ahead with it next week, Brewer will need 24/7 care and probably sedation over the following 4+ weeks. As the worms die, they can potentially cause clots in some pretty dangerous areas. So we have to keep our little rambunctious toddler at peace while Santa’s jumpin’ down chimneys over the next month.
Anyway, we’re lucky to have our vet friends a mile away and a few weeks to be home from work. Let’s just hope Brewer’s first snow comes sometime in the next few days!
by Stacey
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