I need to VENT please (found dog with heartworm - advice needed)

I hope you all don't mind my venting a bit, because I'm really upset right
now. Skip by this if you don't wanna put up with me (it's very long)...
been a long day. Any of you who also frequent "onlinephotographers" may
have already read about it there, so sorry for the repeat. I just need to
let go with some steam and am typing like crazy to keep from screaming out
loud.

About two weeks ago, I found a stray dog in my neighborhood. Not a big
deal, as we have LOTS of strays around here for some reason. But something
was different about this one. Ever had one of those inner voice things that
just tells you to do something? Well, I had one that just told me to take
this dog in.

Newspaper ads, fliers, posters at all the vets and animal shelters in the
area, and no one came forward to claim this very very friendly and smart
dog. She sits, she shakes paws, she knows words, and has even had her teeth
professionally cleaned it seems, yet, no one seems to be missing her! Here
is her photo.... I'm calling her "Mandy".

http://www.mindspring.com/~gregory-h/Mandyface2.jpg

After no one claimed her, I decided to do the humane thing and keep her. I
already have two dogs from years ago that I rescued before, and to be
honest, due to a series of "stuff" in my life, I'm in no financial shape to
take on another dog. But I figured I could sell an old camera or two and
swing her shots or something, and just budget better to scrape the rest
up... no huge problem, there are worse things in the world.

Went to the vet today, and got her shots. And I think I now know why
someone didn't claim her (if they knew this). Mandy tested positive for
heartworm disease.

So needless to say, I'm upset. Upset that it's going to cost over $500 to
treat it, take five months to treat it, and during that time, I somehow have
to keep the dog calm, as they can die easily from heart attacks while being
treated. NOT the news I wanted.... especially today of all days (my
birthday). I think now we know why she was maybe "dumped" by someone. No
one will ever know, but they may have given up on her if they found out she
had heartworm and just let her out or drove by and let her go. Damn, I'm
embarrassed to be a human sometimes.

I could have had her euthanized at this point and not had to deal with it.
But she comes up to me and sits in front, puts her paw up on my knee, and
rests her chin on my leg as if to say, "thank you", and I almost lose it. I
can't be as inhumane as whoever dumped her or let her go because of this. I
picked her up, and it's my responsibility to fix her, but I want to make
sure others do not have to go through this.

I made up a page on my town site about her story, pics, etc. It talks a bit
more about heartworm, and at the bottom of it is a link to a page that goes
into tons of more details about it. Here's the URL...

http://www.thepowderspringspost.com/mandy.htm

Please go to that link at the bottom of it and read up on the topic. I know
many in here know much more about it than I do, but this is once again, my
way of venting about the events of today. If you all do not have your dogs
on the monthly preventative pill for it, consider it. It will save you so
much trouble later - if the dog gets heartworm and it's not treated, they
will die from it, and it's painful. So please get your dogs tested if they
haven't been on it. I'm just resisting the urge to go out of my way to
hunt down her previous owners now and kick their butts into next week for
not bothering with the preventative.

Anyway... very sorry for the "vent". I had to type and type and get some
steam out as I felt like I was going to go nutty.

Thanks.

Greg

Greg,

I don't blame you one bit for being upset.

From the sounds of it you've been doing a great job of trying to find the
owner and unfortunately you are probably right about her being dumped off.
It just pisses me off to no end to think how can someone do this to a member
of the family.

I don't know of any resources myself but maybe someone on the list can give
you some ideas on where to find some help with the cost of the treatment. I
know it's expensive and hard on the dog. I have a friend who found a lab at
a construction site after hurricane Hugo. She had been hanging around
getting food from the workers and when the job was done Greg & Linda took
her in. It turned out Rieta had heartworm to. They treated her and almost
lost her to it but she pulled through and lived for many years afterward.

Good luck & PS. I donated she sounds like a wonderful dog and very lucky to
have you looking out for her.

Celeste



"GAH" wrote in message
link.net...
I hope you all don't mind my venting a bit, because I'm really upset right
now. Skip by this if you don't wanna put up with me (it's very long)...
been a long day. Any of you who also frequent "onlinephotographers" may
have already read about it there, so sorry for the repeat. I just need to
let go with some steam and am typing like crazy to keep from screaming out
loud.

About two weeks ago, I found a stray dog in my neighborhood. Not a big
deal, as we have LOTS of strays around here for some reason. But something
was different about this one. Ever had one of those inner voice things
that
just tells you to do something? Well, I had one that just told me to take
this dog in.

Newspaper ads, fliers, posters at all the vets and animal shelters in the
area, and no one came forward to claim this very very friendly and smart
dog. She sits, she shakes paws, she knows words, and has even had her
teeth
professionally cleaned it seems, yet, no one seems to be missing her!
Here
is her photo.... I'm calling her "Mandy".

http://www.mindspring.com/~gregory-h/Mandyface2.jpg

After no one claimed her, I decided to do the humane thing and keep her.
I
already have two dogs from years ago that I rescued before, and to be
honest, due to a series of "stuff" in my life, I'm in no financial shape
to
take on another dog. But I figured I could sell an old camera or two and
swing her shots or something, and just budget better to scrape the rest
up... no huge problem, there are worse things in the world.

Went to the vet today, and got her shots. And I think I now know why
someone didn't claim her (if they knew this). Mandy tested positive for
heartworm disease.

So needless to say, I'm upset. Upset that it's going to cost over $500 to
treat it, take five months to treat it, and during that time, I somehow
have
to keep the dog calm, as they can die easily from heart attacks while
being
treated. NOT the news I wanted.... especially today of all days (my
birthday). I think now we know why she was maybe "dumped" by someone.
No
one will ever know, but they may have given up on her if they found out
she
had heartworm and just let her out or drove by and let her go. Damn, I'm
embarrassed to be a human sometimes.

I could have had her euthanized at this point and not had to deal with it.
But she comes up to me and sits in front, puts her paw up on my knee, and
rests her chin on my leg as if to say, "thank you", and I almost lose it.
I
can't be as inhumane as whoever dumped her or let her go because of this.
I
picked her up, and it's my responsibility to fix her, but I want to make
sure others do not have to go through this.

I made up a page on my town site about her story, pics, etc. It talks a
bit
more about heartworm, and at the bottom of it is a link to a page that
goes
into tons of more details about it. Here's the URL...

http://www.thepowderspringspost.com/mandy.htm

Please go to that link at the bottom of it and read up on the topic. I
know
many in here know much more about it than I do, but this is once again, my
way of venting about the events of today. If you all do not have your
dogs
on the monthly preventative pill for it, consider it. It will save you so
much trouble later - if the dog gets heartworm and it's not treated, they
will die from it, and it's painful. So please get your dogs tested if
they
haven't been on it. I'm just resisting the urge to go out of my way to
hunt down her previous owners now and kick their butts into next week for
not bothering with the preventative.

Anyway... very sorry for the "vent". I had to type and type and get some
steam out as I felt like I was going to go nutty.

Thanks.

Greg

On Wed, 10 Mar 2004 02:00:58 +0000, GAH wrote:

I hope you all don't mind my venting a bit, because I'm really upset
right now. Skip by this if you don't wanna put up with me (it's very
long)... been a long day. Any of you who also frequent
"onlinephotographers" may have already read about it there, so sorry for
the repeat. I just need to let go with some steam and am typing like
crazy to keep from screaming out loud.

I appreciate where you're coming from. I currently have four dogs, three
rescued from the local shelter and one adopted as a stray, living with me.
I've had mine on heartworm preventative from the day the lab tests
determined it was safe for them. It's not cheap and I'd rather spend the
money in some other way but the risk isn't worth it.

Good luck with the new member of your family. If things don't go well try
to remember that you did your best.

On Wed, 10 Mar 2004 02:00:58 GMT, "GAH" wrote:

I hope you all don't mind my venting a bit, because I'm really upset right
now. [...] I'm calling her "Mandy".

Damn, I'm embarrassed to be a human sometimes. [...]

I understand all of your feelings. Whenever a dog responds to us, and
especially when they reach out on their, it touches us right in the
heart. Venting here is fine with me; and yes, sometimes it is
embarrassing being human. That being said, I'll play the devil's
advocate.

Mandy obviously has some age on her. Do you know how strong the positive
result was? I adopted chow chow, Sheba, 8 years, from the shelter,
knowing that she was heartworm+. Turns out it was a "strong positive."
No x-rays or other diagnostics were used. The rest period was only five
or sex weeks, and all went well.

These last three years have probably been the best of her life. However,
it might have been selfish of me to treat her. I say that because, she
has never had much energy, and in recent weeks, seems to fatigue so
easily. She isn't overweight, and actually walks for 90 minutes daily at
a moderate to slow pace, but otherwise, she never stands for long
periods and often pants from just walking across the room.

My point is, we can't save them all. In my very humble opinion, and all
things considered, it would probably be best to euthanize Mandy. I
recommend picking a target date for euthanasia. Regardless of how long
you delay, love her, treat her like a queen. And don't let her know
you're saying good bye.

For some folks, this will sound reasonable. Other folks will think "How
callous!", but they aren't the ones typing with tears in their eyes.

Whatever you do regarding Mandy, you'll be respected here for the care
you've provided.

Michael
A day without recoil is like a day without sunshine!

"GAH" writes:

Went to the vet today, and got her shots. And I think I now know why
someone didn't claim her (if they knew this). Mandy tested positive for
heartworm disease.

So needless to say, I'm upset. Upset that it's going to cost over $500 to
treat it, take five months to treat it, and during that time, I somehow have
to keep the dog calm, as they can die easily from heart attacks while being
treated.

The last two dogs I found had intestinal worms and one had heartworm. I
don't remember it being *nearly* such a big deal. Since they weren't
really part of our family I dropped them at the vet/boarding facility when
we would leave town for treatments. Even with neutering, this only took a
few visits.

I was surprised at how simple the treatment was. I was told that it had
changed a lot over the years (and this was...wow! 8 years ago). It sure
didn't take five months, and we didn't keep him "calm" the entire time.
(We had five dogs then.)

--kyler

You must have a heart of gold and are a very special person for
helping this dog and trying to spread the word on heartworm
prevention.

Don't give up on this doggie. She is very cute and deserves a great
person like you.

As a result of reading your story my feeling about it is for you to
keep moving forward with the treatment for this dog and give her lots
of love and she will give it back to you.

I found my dog in much the same way you did. This was about 12 years
ago. In my entire life I never had a dog and knew very little about
raising them. I came across my dog by sheer chance and it was an inner
voice that made me back my car up and go over to him. We've been
together ever since. You have no idea just what this dog has done for
me. Maybe you are supposed to receive something from this dog the way
I have from my dog.

X-NoArchive: yes
On Wed, 10 Mar 2004 08:24:00 -0500, Michael A. Ball
wrote:

My point is, we can't save them all. In my very humble opinion, and all
things considered, it would probably be best to euthanize Mandy.

I don't agree. I'm not knocking you for having an opinion. I'm just
saying that I don't agree with it. But then again, I guess the one who
knows best what to do is the person who has Mandy.

Regards,
S

Thanks, Spot.

There are local shelter services that would treat her, but basically I'd
have to turn her over to them for adoption, and I do want to keep her as she
really likes it here with my dogs. This came at a hugely bad time due to
some unexpected medical bills of my own, but regardless... I stopped to pick
her up, took her in, and since her owners didn't step forward, it's my duty
to "fix" her. There are not any "good" low cost resources in my own area,
but a few folks have donated via the page I set up for her, and that helps a
lot. 100% of the money will go towards her heartworm treatment, boarding
during the shot period, shots, etc. She also needed ear mite treatment (had
them bad) and some super vitamins as she was a bit malnourished, but she's
coming out of that now as I've been feeding her good meals twice a day.

I'll keep it updated so folks know what's going on.

Greg

----------



"Spot" wrote in message
...
Greg,

I don't blame you one bit for being upset.

From the sounds of it you've been doing a great job of trying to find the
owner and unfortunately you are probably right about her being dumped off.
It just pisses me off to no end to think how can someone do this to a
member
of the family.

I don't know of any resources myself but maybe someone on the list can
give
you some ideas on where to find some help with the cost of the treatment.
I
know it's expensive and hard on the dog. I have a friend who found a lab
at
a construction site after hurricane Hugo. She had been hanging around
getting food from the workers and when the job was done Greg & Linda took
her in. It turned out Rieta had heartworm to. They treated her and
almost
lost her to it but she pulled through and lived for many years afterward.

Good luck & PS. I donated she sounds like a wonderful dog and very lucky
to
have you looking out for her.

Celeste



"GAH" wrote in message
link.net...
I hope you all don't mind my venting a bit, because I'm really upset
right
now. Skip by this if you don't wanna put up with me (it's very long)...
been a long day. Any of you who also frequent "onlinephotographers" may
have already read about it there, so sorry for the repeat. I just need
to
let go with some steam and am typing like crazy to keep from screaming
out
loud.

About two weeks ago, I found a stray dog in my neighborhood. Not a big
deal, as we have LOTS of strays around here for some reason. But
something
was different about this one. Ever had one of those inner voice things
that
just tells you to do something? Well, I had one that just told me to
take
this dog in.

Newspaper ads, fliers, posters at all the vets and animal shelters in
the
area, and no one came forward to claim this very very friendly and smart
dog. She sits, she shakes paws, she knows words, and has even had her
teeth
professionally cleaned it seems, yet, no one seems to be missing her!
Here
is her photo.... I'm calling her "Mandy".

http://www.mindspring.com/~gregory-h/Mandyface2.jpg

After no one claimed her, I decided to do the humane thing and keep her.
I
already have two dogs from years ago that I rescued before, and to be
honest, due to a series of "stuff" in my life, I'm in no financial shape
to
take on another dog. But I figured I could sell an old camera or two
and
swing her shots or something, and just budget better to scrape the rest
up... no huge problem, there are worse things in the world.

Went to the vet today, and got her shots. And I think I now know why
someone didn't claim her (if they knew this). Mandy tested positive for
heartworm disease.

So needless to say, I'm upset. Upset that it's going to cost over $500
to
treat it, take five months to treat it, and during that time, I somehow
have
to keep the dog calm, as they can die easily from heart attacks while
being
treated. NOT the news I wanted.... especially today of all days (my
birthday). I think now we know why she was maybe "dumped" by someone.
No
one will ever know, but they may have given up on her if they found out
she
had heartworm and just let her out or drove by and let her go. Damn,
I'm
embarrassed to be a human sometimes.

I could have had her euthanized at this point and not had to deal with
it.
But she comes up to me and sits in front, puts her paw up on my knee,
and
rests her chin on my leg as if to say, "thank you", and I almost lose
it.
I
can't be as inhumane as whoever dumped her or let her go because of
this.
I
picked her up, and it's my responsibility to fix her, but I want to make
sure others do not have to go through this.

I made up a page on my town site about her story, pics, etc. It talks a
bit
more about heartworm, and at the bottom of it is a link to a page that
goes
into tons of more details about it. Here's the URL...

http://www.thepowderspringspost.com/mandy.htm

Please go to that link at the bottom of it and read up on the topic. I
know
many in here know much more about it than I do, but this is once again,
my
way of venting about the events of today. If you all do not have your
dogs
on the monthly preventative pill for it, consider it. It will save you
so
much trouble later - if the dog gets heartworm and it's not treated,
they
will die from it, and it's painful. So please get your dogs tested if
they
haven't been on it. I'm just resisting the urge to go out of my way to
hunt down her previous owners now and kick their butts into next week
for
not bothering with the preventative.

Anyway... very sorry for the "vent". I had to type and type and get
some
steam out as I felt like I was going to go nutty.

Thanks.

Greg

Michael,

I cannot agree with you to have Mandy Euthanized. If she were twelve, and
had other problems as well such as hip displasia (spelling?) or other
problems, then I might consider that and not put her through the treatments.
However, she is estimated to be 4-5 years old, and in otherwise very good
health. She's also an incredibly smart and affectionate dog, too. I can't
see putting her down simply because of the heartworms. It'll be a huge
pain in the butt to keep her "non-active" during the treatment, but other
than that, she doesn't deserve death because her previous owners didn't give
her the monthly preventative pill.

To answer your one question though, I do not think it was a "strong
positive". They said a strong one comes back + very quickly and a
non-strong one takes a few minutes, and this test took a few to get the
results. She is also not showing even the early stages of symptoms.


Greg

------------

"Michael A. Ball" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 10 Mar 2004 02:00:58 GMT, "GAH" wrote:

I hope you all don't mind my venting a bit, because I'm really upset
right
now. [...] I'm calling her "Mandy".

Damn, I'm embarrassed to be a human sometimes. [...]

I understand all of your feelings. Whenever a dog responds to us, and
especially when they reach out on their, it touches us right in the
heart. Venting here is fine with me; and yes, sometimes it is
embarrassing being human. That being said, I'll play the devil's
advocate.

Mandy obviously has some age on her. Do you know how strong the positive
result was? I adopted chow chow, Sheba, 8 years, from the shelter,
knowing that she was heartworm+. Turns out it was a "strong positive."
No x-rays or other diagnostics were used. The rest period was only five
or sex weeks, and all went well.

These last three years have probably been the best of her life. However,
it might have been selfish of me to treat her. I say that because, she
has never had much energy, and in recent weeks, seems to fatigue so
easily. She isn't overweight, and actually walks for 90 minutes daily at
a moderate to slow pace, but otherwise, she never stands for long
periods and often pants from just walking across the room.

My point is, we can't save them all. In my very humble opinion, and all
things considered, it would probably be best to euthanize Mandy. I
recommend picking a target date for euthanasia. Regardless of how long
you delay, love her, treat her like a queen. And don't let her know
you're saying good bye.

For some folks, this will sound reasonable. Other folks will think "How
callous!", but they aren't the ones typing with tears in their eyes.

Whatever you do regarding Mandy, you'll be respected here for the care
you've provided.

Michael
A day without recoil is like a day without sunshine!

Thanks for the words. She is a special dog, and I am going to treat it
regardless of cost. Heck, I'll sell off my camera equipment if I have to,
but I think some of the donations and what I can scrape up will get it done.

I drive by stray dogs every day in my area... we have A LOT of them around
here. But this one seemed to be different in the way she looked up as I
drove by, and for whatever reason, I felt I HAD to stop. I love animals,
but again, have two of my own already from years ago, so the last thing I
was thinking was I needed a third especially with my current financial
slump... but this one was again, different.

She's snoozing by my computer chair right now. LOL. The other two are
disgusted over having another one here, but they'll get over it. G

pic:
http://www.mindspring.com/~gregory-h/Mandyface2.jpg


Greg

----------

"Suzanne" wrote in message
...
You must have a heart of gold and are a very special person for
helping this dog and trying to spread the word on heartworm
prevention.

Don't give up on this doggie. She is very cute and deserves a great
person like you.

As a result of reading your story my feeling about it is for you to
keep moving forward with the treatment for this dog and give her lots
of love and she will give it back to you.

I found my dog in much the same way you did. This was about 12 years
ago. In my entire life I never had a dog and knew very little about
raising them. I came across my dog by sheer chance and it was an inner
voice that made me back my car up and go over to him. We've been
together ever since. You have no idea just what this dog has done for
me. Maybe you are supposed to receive something from this dog the way
I have from my dog.