When you adopt a shelter dog, usually there are health issues to deal with. They can range from relatively minor, to rather severe, depending on how long the dog was surviving on the street before animal control picked him up.
I knew the minute I saw Jesse that he was in pretty bad shape. I knew that it would take time and money to get him back into good health. I also knew I couldn't just walk away and leave him there.
I knew he was mine. From the moment I saw him. I knew he was meant to be mine.
So I adopted him. Before I even took him home for the first time, we went straight to the vet and began the long, slow process of making him healthy again. We started with shots and worming. Then came neutering. All the while working on getting weight put on him.
At long last, we came to the final step in the process-- getting his heartworms cleared up. We did that this week. It was not without aggravation, though.
Remember the fiasco over the medicine? Well, as if that weren't trouble enough, they were supposed to call me when they got some in. They didn't. I waited and waited, and waited. Finally, I called them to check, and "Oh, yes, we've got some in." I nearly went off again, but I managed to keep my anger in check. At least they had the medicine now, and we could get this done.
He spent the night Tuesday, and I picked him up yesterday. Only now, he's got to stay confined for a month. It'll take that long for his body to break down and absorb the dead worms. Until that's done, if he gets excited and gets his heart pumping, one of the worms could dislodge and enter his bloodstream. That could cause major problems. I reckon it would be like having a massive clot in there.
Is there such a thing as a dead heartworm embolism?
Let's not find out.
In the meantime, he's going to act like he doesn't feel well. He may develop a cough, and has to take steroids to help with any inflammation. On the other hand, I was pleased to see his weight up to 58 lbs. He's not fat, either. To me, that just shows how excruciatingly emaciated he was when I first got him--14 lbs lighter.
And he's just the sweetest thing. Mommy nubs her tweet widdle piddy wub dub dub...
Um, *ahem* The canine in question has been a pleasing addition to our family unit.
Wubby dub.
Dub, dub.
4 comments:
Is he getting over his camera aversion?
I remember when Rocky got that big gash on the bottom of his foot, and we were supposed to keep him off it as much as possible. The first week or two were easy, because he didn't feel good, but after that he felt much better, so it was much harder to keep a bouncing dog from re-injuring himself.
Jesse looks pretty content. You are pretty amazing for taking on such problems.
Jesse's just beautiful! I'm glad to see he finally found a good forever home, especially since in his previous life he was most likely neglected and/or mistreated. Poor guy, he looks very submissive in that photo, like he's expecting to be beaten or something. Cheer up Jesse, you're safe now! Don't let that cat rule the roost either, they will ;)
I'm not sure, Betsy. He was feeling pretty draggy that day, so I don't know if he was getting used to the camera, or just didn't feel like getting up and running away.
Thanks, Lou.
Patti, it's too late for that. The cat already rules the roost, and the dogs know it.
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