We had a Chihuahua show up in the dark Friday night - we live where everyone has 5 acres and he doesn't belong to anyone around here so he was apparently dumped (we have three other dogs and two of them were dumped too!) This little guy is very sweet, deer head type it seems, wonderful temperament and appears fairly healthy. I took him to vet today to be checked out and he has heartworms. He has not coughed or anything which is a good sign but I'm worried and it's also a big expense we didn't plan on. However, no way could I let him die or get sicker! The vet first has him on antibiotics for 30 days to kill a parasite she says they have found that causes the heartworms to be resistant to the treatment! He will also be on preventive to keep young worms from growing up. Then he is to go to phase 2 (followed by phase 3) treatment in 60 days (not sure why that long) - this will require some hospitalization and then rest when he is at home. So it's going to be a long haul. They think, from the amount of tarter on his teeth, that he is at least 5 years old but he does not act very old at all. She said she has not had a dog die from heartworm treatment in years. I guess I want encouragement and any tips anyone can give. We tend to be holistic with our own as well as our dog's care. They all get food like Blue Buffalo and Canidae and sometimes I supplement with a little raw meat or canned wild Alaskan salmon and sometimes a vitamin supplement. I want to build him up as much as possible before the hard part of his treatment.
Obviously he had bad owners (he has hookworms too) who then figured they would just drive down a country road and dump him in the dark! I can't imagine doing that to this little guy!
