JUST 2 PILLS A MONTH TO KEEP PUPS SAFE

THE IMPORTANCE OF YEAR-ROUND HEARTWORM & FLEA/TICK TREATMENT

Many may not realize the importance of year-round heartworm and flea/tick prevention here in the warmer climate states. This is a reminder that heartworm can be a deadly disease if left too long before treatment. Treatment, in and of itself, is hard on the dogs and carries with it risks as well. Heartworm is carried by mosquitos and is very prevalent in this area. Other blood-borne pathogens, such as Ehrlichia and Lyme disease, are carried by fleas and ticks. In the absence of prevention, our poor fur babies are susceptible to these illnesses. Treatment is not only costly to the owners but more importantly, costly to our pups. 

 

DAMAGE CAUSED BY HEARTWORMS

Heartworms eat away at internal organs such as the heart and lungs. They cause dogs to have difficulty breathing and poor heart function. As heartworms die, they break off and can cause the dog to have acute respiratory difficulty, which, although rare, can lead to death. Treatment consists of deep injections into the muscle and sustained crate rest for a significant period of time to keep the pup safe and reduce the risk of a piece of the worm getting into the lungs. 

 

MANY OF OUR RESCUES HAVE HEARTWORMS

Our pups don't understand what is happening. They look to us to be their human, to love them, take care of them, and prevent harm. We fail them on many occasions. The majority of dogs our rescue takes are heartworm positive. The treatment is painful and with many risks, as noted above. Some, unfortunately, either don't make it or have too much organ damage so that the risk of treatment is too high.

 

OUR HEARTS BREAK FOR JOEY, BABY & LUNA

Because oftentimes diseases are faceless, I want to introduce you to three pups. Joey, our hound mix, passed suddenly. He was heavy loaded on heartworm and died before we could complete treatment. Baby, our sweet 6-year-old beagle mix, has so much organ damage from long-term infestation of heartworms, that we cannot treat her with any injections. The harm of the treatment outweighs the benefit. She is with her loving fosters who will keep her comfortable until such a time that she succumbs to the disease. Luna is not only heartworm positive but also positive for Ehrlichia. She is being treated currently and we are hopeful that she will make a full recovery.

 

These dogs were owned by humans who turned their backs to prevention that would have kept these poor fur babies from feeling any pain or discomfort. It would have kept Joey from dying and enjoying his life like he was meant to do. 

 

What I AM grateful for is that each of these dogs now have or have had the opportunity to know love, know a home, and know that there are humans that care deeply. 

 

KEEP PUPS SAFE WITH JUST TWO PILLS A MONTH

Two pills a month (Heartworm and flea/tick) and Joey would still be with us, Baby would be able to enjoy a long life, and Luna would not have to go through treatment. It saddens me, as a rescue, that all of our fur babies’ illnesses, and the pain that they have endured, were at the hands of humans and could have been prevented.

 

What gives me joy is knowing that these don't represent the majority of how humans treat our fur and feathered friends. What gives me joy is knowing that there are fosters and adopters who give the best lives to our rescue dogs, regardless of the condition they come to them in. 

 

Two pills a month of prevention (Heartworm and flea/tick)…. that's all it would've taken…. If this has one person begin prevention then Joey's death and Luna and Baby's situations will not be in vain. Thank you for reading.

 

#freedombridgeanimalrescue