Saturday, August 9, 2008

Newbie on the way.

















Nope, not Buela.




















That looks like a Buela face though.
















It's Dixie Rose.

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Wednesday I get to drive to Columbia to pick up another foster through Blue Crush Rescue. Her name is Dixie and was an owner surrender due to relocation. A relocation which also means that 2 children no longer have their best friend.

Surely a family pet that is housebroken and altered still young and full of life should be easily adopted right?

Donovan found her posting on AuCaDo under the urgent category and emailed me in regards to her after emailing Chris and Martha from Blue Crush Rescue about her. I called Martha and got the dirt. She will be pulled from the Asheville Shelter Monday and here with us on her lucky day the 13th.

Unfortunately Miss Dixie has heart worm. we have yet to find out how severe a case of heart worm she has, but are looking at 2 to 3 months of permanent quiet time. This should be fun, keeping a 2 year old ACD quiet for 3 months. If you do not know the temperament of an ACD, you shouldn't be purchasing or adopting one. Think of a golden with an attitude and mind of its own, on speed, steroids, and prozac encased in just a 30 - 50 lb body. Trust me, I love my Buela Grace, I wouldn't trade her for the world. Loyal, intelligent, protective, loving, problem solving masterminds of trouble and delight.

Heart worm is a disease that is spread by a mosquito bite and it can only be passed via a bite from an infected mosquito. What happens is an infected dog gets bitten by the mosquito, larval worms in the blood then live in the gut of the mosquito and go through 2 - 3 larval molting stages (instars) then move to the salivary glands of the insect. When the bug bites another dog these larval worms then live in the dogs veins and arteries, going through another 2 or 3 instars before becoming adults and moving to the heart. They can be 6 to 12 inches long and a severe infestation can easily be seen on an ultrasound and looks like spaghetti busting out of the heart.















Treatment involves up to 3 shots of an arsenic based vermicide. The treatment has been likened to chemo for dogs. To avoid the dog going into shock or have embolisms the treatment is dragged out so a few worms die at a time. The cause for keeping the dog quiet is so that pieces of dead worms do not cause a stroke or embolisms in the tiny pulminary veins of the brain or lungs.

How do you prevent heart worm and months of pain and soreness and misery for your pet? Put them on a preventative. A $13 a month beef flavored pill (which all our dogs take like a treat with no problem) versus having to go through the entire treatment process. All of this nonsense could have been avoided.


American Heartworm Society
(sad really that there needs to be one of these).

1 comment:

yellowdoggranny said...

well howdy...thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment..I really wanted to tell thom to go fuckhimself..but I'm enjoying so much his acrobatics in kissing my ass every day that I'm glad I didn't ..this is a lot more fun..
the dog is absolutely beautiful...I have a bunch of books on natural health for dogs and cats and when my pitty bull dog came down with parvo(after I complained that I had him on vitamins and he didn't need it and the vet gave him the shot anyhow..)he got got the parvo from the shot, which can happen..and the vet admitted if it hadn't been for all the Vitamin A and E he would have died..and I think that vitamin A and E is recommended for heart worm too as it helps strengthen the heart and makes it easier to heal..but check it out with your vet first..again..thanks for coming by..uh? who's your sister? tell her I said thanks..