Well, the past couple of weeks have been eventful to say the least. I have been consumed in house drama, car drama, animals, the holidays, family and work. To boot, I received an email from the local animal shelter that included 4 dogs in the long list of animals needing help…one purebred Great Pyrenees, 2 Great Pyrenees mixes, and one Basset Hound mix (another favorite breed of mine). So naturally I panicked, my mind began racing, and after a great deal of logical thinking, I decided to take the illogical route.
So New Year’s Day mother and I jumped in the car and headed to the pound. We came home with two very handsome boys who I’ve named Preston and Hudson.
Hudson:
These two boys are irresistible to say the least. They are both very affecationate and so well behaved, not to mention extremely handsome! Lots of character in these boys – Just love them!
Then Monday came, and I picked up the rest of the crew.
Nicholas:
Honey:
These two babies are as sweet as sugar. Nicholas loves to lie his head in your lap and sit pretty for you, and Honey loves to place her paw on you so that you know she cares, while looking at you with thanks when you give her a hug.
The best part of it all? They’re all heartworm positive and all have kennel cough. Yes, I pulled 4 dogs, and ALL FOUR are heartworm positive. I just sat in disbelief, but two tests confirmed it to be true. I thought the 2nd test would surely prove different results, but no such luck. What are the chances??? Why me (if you’ll forgive my asking)?? I’d lie if I said I wasn’t overwhelmed at the thought of what to do, how to do it, and the best way to do it. To boot my own dog has to have cruciate surgery Monday, so It’s a bit daunting. Not to mention AbraHAM is heartworm positive…although we’ll be retesting him at the end of the month and praying for negative results!
Honey is probably in the worst shape. Radiographs showed a bit of an enlarged heart, basically a stage three of the four stages of heartworms, the onset of pneumonia (or close to it), and a pretty bad cough. She’s emaciated, as all but Hudson are, and her coat is poor. She appears to be a golden/pyr mix, and is still happy, affectionate and loving, despite her illnesses and past.
I’ll have to do x-rays on the others, too, and then make up a plan with the doctor as to how to proceed. Obviously I cannot treat them all at once, both physically and financially. This is a first for me. I’ve always had multiple medicating, multiple illnesses or multiple handicaps…it’s always something in the rescue world to keep up with and keep an eye on. However, four heartworm treatments (or 5, including AbraHAM), is intimidating. I have no idea how I’m going to do it.
So, if you’ll keep us all in your prayers, we’d be grateful. They are good animals with a lot of heart and a lot of love. Somehow or another we’ll get them through this. If there is anyone that has any ideas or can help with some sort of fundraising, I’d be grateful for your help.
Obviously I hit the floor awfully hard when I fell out of that rocker. 😉