Maizie was exhausted from her bath and ride home from the shelter. Foster Mom Pat remarked that she felt crinkly when she helped her into her crate, as though she’d fall apart if you didn’t hold her just right. But we weren’t too worried. She’s a young dog and other than being tired and underweight, she should be able to pull through the heartworm treatment with good food, water, rest, medication…and belly rubs.
However, this morning Maizie woke up breathing heavy and a little erratically. Pat got her in to see Dr. Bob right away. The prognosis was not good; Maizie’s problem was one the vet had never seen before. She has pockets of air over her body, just under the skin. Usually these air pockets are caused by some sort of trauma, either a kick or a larger dog grabbing a smaller dog and shaking them. However the pockets are normally localized in one spot, not all over the body. Plus, they had to have occurred recently, because she could not have lived long with them. She’s had no incidents at the shelter and no bite wounds can be found anywhere. Dr. Bob ran x-rays to see if anything would show up internally, but there was nothing, save for irritated lungs. We’re very worried about this girl. She remains sweet and affectionate, but she’s lost her perkiness today. We’re not sure if she’s going to pull through this, especially if we cannot find the cause.
Death from Distemper or heartworms is not quick, the suffering is immense. There is no cure for Distemper, and any treatment available is only meant to ease suffering or help the dog stay strong enough to attempt to fight the virus on it’s own. Distemper slowly destroys, the lymphoid organs, respiratory organs, gastrointestinal organs, and urogenital organs, one-by-one. Most dogs that die from distemper, die from neurological complications, many of which are horrific to witness: swelling of the brain, seizures, deterioration of mental and muscle function, paralysis, disabling muscle spasms, depression and an increased sensitivity to stimuli like pain or touch. Heartworms is as equally devastating. Read Livy’s story to understand why waiting to see if a dog gets heartworms to take action is not only expensive but very, very dangerous for the dog.
Ruby was very, very lucky to have survived and found a wonderful home to live out a healthy and happy life. Her illnesses were easily avoidable with simple and relatively inexpensive preventive measures. Sadly, heartworm prevention costs only about $7-$10 a month, and the DHLP-P vaccination, which protects against more than just Distemper, costs only about $8-$12 a year. The cost in your time to carry out this prevention is even less. We hope that Ruby’s story (below) and the suffering she had to endure will educate so that other dogs don't have to suffer or die from these preventable diseases.
Ruby was very, very lucky to have survived and found a wonderful home to live out a healthy and happy life. Her illnesses were easily avoidable with simple and relatively inexpensive preventive measures. Sadly, heartworm prevention costs only about $7-$10 a month, and the DHLP-P vaccination, which protects against more than just Distemper, costs only about $8-$12 a year. The cost in your time to carry out this prevention is even less. We hope that Ruby’s story (below) and the suffering she had to endure will educate so that other dogs don't have to suffer or die from these preventable diseases.
May 25: My German Shepherd
May 17: Olivia, Henrietta, Sunshine and Ruby
April 10: First Trip to the Beach
