A few weeks back I told you about us finding out that Lucy had heart worms and a few of you have asked about her progress with treatment.
The first step in treating Luc was giving her a heart worm preventative pill. The same pill that you may give your dog each month. The difference is that it is very dangerous to give a dog a heart worm preventative pill if the already have a heart worms. Because of the dangers Lucy had to go into the vet to be watched after receiving the pill. She seemed to do just fine and this began our leash walks.
The second step in her treatment was completed while we were gone for the wedding. Lucy had her first injection. Apparently it is very painful. But like all good moms would do I requested that she have plenty of pain meds. :) She had some swelling at the injection site, but that was her only major symptom after the shot.
The next step is in 3 weeks, she will under go 2 more injections. She seems okay at home. The only hard part is keeping her calm. Because the injections are breaking down the worms in her heart, there is a risk of blood clots. We have to keep her heart rate down to keep her safe. This is our biggest challenge. I have an inside dog that would prefer to live in the back yard all the time. She paces the floor and just cries to go outside. She also is bolting out the door any chance she gets, just to be outside. She doesn't bolt to run, just to go out and lay in the grass. Then I have to drag her in because she isn't obeying....so we are having to reestablish some rules. I think its mainly due to the lack of time she is spending outside. It hurts my heart really, but we are trying to find a balance in feeling sorry for her and making her obey.
She seems to be doing well and not hurting too much. I think our wallet is the only thing hurting.....but it is worth it to get her well. :)
Just remember if your dog isn't on heart worm preventative for whatever reason, it isn't too late. The most common myth is that preventative is expensive. Just remember you can treat your dog with preventatives for YEARS on what you can treat them for heart worms. STOP MAKING EXCUSES AND JUST DO IT!!
Thanks for your comment on my blog. I suppose that you are the bride in which I copied your awesome lingerie shower?!? You are lucky to have such loving and talented friends in your life! Congrats on your marriage! It is one of the best journeys you'll ever take! Sorry to read about your sweet puppy! Glad that they are able to fix her though!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you are posting about this! It is so true! The expense each month is not near the expense of the heartworm treatment. Better to prevent it than to have to deal with it in the end. I'm glad you are telling your story on your blog so that others will learn! :) Thanks, girl!
ReplyDeleteWe put a dog through heart worm treatment about a year ago and he is so looks so much healthier now. He is an outside dog and I agree it was SO hard keeping him calm because all he ever wanted to do was RUN! A few times he got loose from us and would be gone for hours. We were worried about a clot but he never had one problem- not that I recommend letting yours run! Ours was a stray we fell in love with and had to treat.
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry about your sweet dog. I hope she is on the way to feeling better. It is hard to see you sweet puppy suffer when she is like part of the family.
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