On Mon, 5 Apr 2010 20:32:11 -0400, "cshenk" wrote:

Smart, as one with a post-heartworm case dog. Rescue pup. I am not allowed
to jog him more than 1/2 mil at human speeds and he has other issues. Do
not mess with thIs one with a loved pooch. Listen to the vet.

When we adopted Cash, he was one of some 100 rescue pooches that were slated
to be 'demized' due to active heatworms in my local area. At best, 3 other
found a home. Most will not adopt a pet who has had them. We were lucky to
find the *perfect* pooch and accept that he probably will not see his 7th
birthday. They will all be good years. I may wake up tomorrow to find he
is dead. It will still have been good times for all we have had but i will
cry alot. Heck, i'm gonna cry alot anyways when the time comes. I just
hope it's later so i can enjoy him more.

I hope all that makes sense. Never let someone like Char tell you to ignore
the vet in your area for a preventive needed. There is no 'raw feeding'
that will prevent heartworms. Just like raw feeding wont prevent rabies.

Agree with this 100%.

Solid facts, a dog who has once had heartworms is known statistically to be
prone to them again so they go on preventive and it shows that if they are,
they dont develop them again. Dogs who have had them not on preventive can
pass them to other cats and dogs if they get them again and even pass them
in very rare cases (real rare) to humans.

I am confused. Our rescue has treated several dogs for heartworm, all
Siberian Huskies, which apparently local folk think can't be bitten by
mosquitos because of all their fur. Wrong. Anyway, we kept two of
them because no one else was interested in them. One lived to 15 or
16 - exact age is unknown because his age when he was sprung from the
pound is unknown. The other Sibe died younger than 15, again age is
unknown, but he developed DIC during his neuter surgery, due either to
the heartworm disease itself or to the treatment, and that likely
shortened his life span. DIC is usually fatal in dogs and it was just
lucky for Boomer that a Board-certified veterinary hematologist
happened to walk by, see him oozing, immediately order tests to
confirm DIC, and then call us to bring our greyhounds in to donate
blood. But anyway. Are you saying that your dog, Cash, has to be on
restricted exercise forever because he once had heartworm? Or is it
because of these other issues he has (and what are they?) I have
never heard that a dog that once had heartworm is statistically prone
to get it again - where did that information come from? I am sure you
know that heartworm is carried and transmitted by mosquitos. A dog
that has heartworm cannot "pass" heartworm on to cats, other dogs,
humans, giraffes or anything else - heartworm is transmitted by
mosquitos.