back to Health topics
|
|
| Participants in this thread: |
|
piddler55
3 posts |
Hi! I feel led to post this. I had a 3 1/2 lb ToyFoxTerrier/Chihuahua named “Puppy” in 2005. We were moving and found our hectic human family was not doing well for her. I decided to find her a new family before we moved. It was hard on me but better for her. I found out 6 months later from the wonderful family who adopted Puppy that she had died from heartworm infestation. She had no hope and they put her down. You see,I figured since she was indoors almost 24/7 that she did not need vaccinations. She had potty-trained herself to the cardboard box she had used to sleep in. I just changed the newspaper daily and all was well. Smart little dog she was. We did not have extra money to do much of anything with so could not get her vaccinations anyway. She was in the home all the time or in my arms,so I justified it that way. WRONG!!! All it takes is 1 bug to get those heartworms going. 1 stinking bug took her from the people who loved her. They were aware she had no vaccinations and I don’t know if they got her any either after they adopted her. Either way,their hearts were broken and Puppy’s life taken away because I thought she was safe because she was inside all the time. Don’t you believe it. It has been over 3 years since we moved to GA from FL and we,just my hubby and I,have just adopted a TFT whose owner is ill and needed to find their 2 TFTs a home. We adopted the female of the pair. The male,Zach,is still in need of a home. Molly has been vet checked and vaccinated aginst all that would take her from us. Heartworms too. Her first family thought as I did she did not need heartworm preventitive because she was a inside dog.They checked her out for me before I adopted her. Negative for heartworms. Please do not make the same mistake I did and not get the vaccinations and heartworm prevention they need or you could lose you canine friend or friends. That’s all I need to say. My adopted TFT Molly is perfect and just all so loving. Try adoption thru rescues or the local humane shelters.Enough of the purposely mixed bred dogs just for the fad of it.Now I’m done…jackie |
|
Piddler55 thanks for your post. Many people do not realize the importance of vaccinations or heartworm preventitive. I’m glad that you found the perfect dog for your family. People do not realize that even if their dogs are inside only or only outside for limited time, it only takes one mosquito to get in the house through a screen or open door to infect their dog. In the warm southern states dogs need to be on the preventitive all year, in some of the northern states they only need be on preventitive during mosquito season, however their vet may still want to test for heartworm before they go back on the preventitive. Since I live in Southwest Ohio, I keep my dogs on Heartworm preventitive all year at the advice of my vet. Also, many infectious canine diseases are airborne and if you go to a pet store that allows people to bring their dogs and you pet or play with an infected dog you can bring some diseases home to your pet, although this is not common, it is possible. Puppies and geriatric dogs are the most susceptible. All dogs need to be vaccinated and on heartworm preventitive on a regular basis, flea and/or tick preventitive as needed. There are clinics through out the counrty that offer low cost vaccinations and spay/neuter services. If a person is on a limited income, I suggest that they apdopt a smaller dog, the cost of heartworm and flea preventitive are based on the weight of the dog, so these medications are less expensive for smaller dogs. One last comment on heartworm-the smaller the dog, the more dangerous the treatment and the less likely the dog will survive the required treatment. |
|
New User
New Post |
formatting help
for bold: *bold*
for italic: _italics_ |
|
back to Health topics
|
Discussions: Inside dogs and Heartworms...
