Heartworms

Koani

Two years ago I took in a stray daschund. He was extremely underweight, was missing alot of his fur, and also had heartworms. Looking at him now, you wouldn't know it was the same dog. However we've gone through two treatments for the heartworms and are testing again tomorrow to see if the last one finally cleared it. I know they can still live a full life for years even with them, but he has "a severe case" as the vet put it; because we don't know how long he's had them and the extent of the damage I don't think this is an option for us. There were complications the second time around (fluid building up in his lungs) so I won't consider putting him through another round and told myself if he still had them I'd have to put him to sleep since I didn't want him to suffer. At the begin of the month I caught him walking around and suddenly whining like he was in pain, and in the last week he's vomited a couple of times. I'm afraid I already know what the results will be and I'm not ready Has anyone else had to deal with this?

spalko

We had a heartworm positive dog in a few weeks ago and she's doing great after the treatment! I don't understand why she wasn't fully recovered from them the first time. The treatment is constant cage rest and once daily injections. We kept the dog here during treatment and slightly sedated to avoid over-stimulating her. Exercise intolerance is a huge part of heartworm disease so the quieter they are the better. I don't know that I would automatically think that you need to put her down. Talk with your vet if it is a money issue because this dog was treated FOR FREE! The company we purchase most of our heartworm preventatives and products from treated her for free and bought her enough food for a year.

*Some back story, the dog was a stray and her current owner took her in not knowing anything about her. Found out, out of the blue, that the dog was sick and knew she couldn't afford to take care of her properly. We made a few phone calls here at the clinic and our reps were amazing in helping this woman out. The dog is doing great now*

So talk with your vet and see if there is anything they are willing to do. Usually all it takes is for someone to ask and help will be given.

Koani

The shots are what we've done along with the heartworm prevention pills monthly. The first time she said either they were so bad that it wasn't enough or he must have thrown up a pill without me seeing. The shots/overnight stay and such are over $300 here, and she was willing to do the second round almost free for me because she knows money is an issue and she sees that I'm trying to get him taken care of. Like I said though, the second time around there were complications and even though he seems healthy enough, he's an older dog and I'm not sure he can handle a third time.

oparcm

Ugh, heartworm.  My dog is a rescue and she was positive.  She had two rounds of treatment and needed another one the same week I adopted her.  They gave her the injection on a Wednesday and we adopted her on a Friday.  She also had to move states as she went from a foster to me.  The reason I took her was because it was easier for me to keep her quiet as an only animal vs. the foster home with 4 labs. I am also experienced with a few medically fragile animals so they knew I could handle it.  She got the injection on Mar 6th and is doing well but she is 2.  We did keep her quiet and no exercise for 6 wks and then did a gradual increase over the next 6 wks so she had 12 wks of rest.   It is so hard with them because they want to run.  But treatment went well.  Is your vet telling you to put her down?  What are the recommendations from them?  Good luck, I am sure you love her so much and it is heartbreaking to see them sick.

Koani

The vet suggested it as a possibility if it didn't work out after another treatment because he's older and how many she said showed up in the test. She did say he could live for years yet but depending on how much damage has already been done. he would probably suffer after a while. Even she said when we went in on Wednesday that he was just destined to always have them because of it...much to our surprise though, he is apparently heartworm free! Now we have to figure out what the vomiting is from, but it's a huge weight off of my chest.