Nothing kills a mood like a barfing dog

Steve has started his heartworm treatment. He is on an antibacterial medicine to kill off the heartworm helpers. He is supposed to take 4 pills a day, they would like him to take them all at once depending on whether is stomach can tolerate it. Nothing kills a mood like a barfing dog. No, Steve cannot tolerate all 4 pills at once. So now he gets them two in the morning and 2 at night. I think he is bored but otherwise seems to be doing okay.

In other news the Olympics are on and nothing is making a hockey crazy O happier than watching the women’s team. Hubby and I are enjoying watching the Olympics as well. Unfortunately NBC is the one broadcasting them and they do such a terrible job. There are so many events they could be broadcasting but instead they repeat the same things 3 times a day. It is so frustrating.

Baby H is following in O’s footsteps. She is also going to be one of those kids who if they are laying down want to sit up, if they are sitting they want to be standing, if they are standing they want to walk, and of course walking leads to running!  🙂 We are so blessed to have them both.

My new job is going great. I really like the people I work with and they seem to think I am doing a pretty good job. Hubby is back to working long hours at his job, they/he is pretty happy too, I think.

Okay completely random thought. Poodles at dog shows always look embarrassed. Why do they insist on giving the poor things such goofy haircuts?

Love to all and happy thoughts for a happy day!

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Heartworm is expensive

We take in pets or our children’s pets because we love them -both the pet and the child. We invest time and energy in making their lives as happy as possible, again both the pet and the child. The children grow up and hopefully thrive and most of them then leave to have lives of their own and begin the process again. The pets stay for as long as we can possibly have them. We love them and in some creepy cases they take the place of the kids.

We are not that type of pet owner. Steve is a dog, a very much loved dog, but a dog just the same. We don’t assume that he is welcome everywhere, we don’t take him places he isn’t wanted or won’t feel comfortable, he is a dog. And now he is a sick dog.

Steve has heartworm. This is a treatable preventable disease that we didn’t know about. The treatment plan is expensive, intensive and possibly painful. It will take about 60 days to do the treatment and he has to be kept calm and sedate the whole time. No big long walks, no running, no rough play, when he goes out he has to be on a leash to keep him from getting riled up. We start the treatment today.

It starts with 30 days of an antibiotic to kill off the bacteria that feed the heartworms, during this time Steve can be somewhat active. Then after 30 days of the antibiotic he goes to the vet for a day, they give him the IMMITICID an injection that will start to kill the heartworms then he has to be kept calm for the next month. Thirty days after the first injection he goes back to the vet for two days, he gets another set of injections and then the next day another.

For those of you keeping tabs that is 30 days of antibiotics and 3 injections with 3 days at the vet office. Oh and because Steve is such a big dog (107 pounds) he needs 3 bottles of the IMMITICID each time. Plus he has a prescription for tramadol for pain. Because there is a good possibility that there will be pain because of how the injection has to be given, in an artery not a vein.

All of this could have been prevented. But we didn’t know that heartworm had spread this far north and is now a major problem. Heartworm medicine is expensive it costs about $100 for a year. This treatment is even more expensive; it will cost us over $2200 to get him (possibly) well. Don’t wait, get your dog on the regimen today, I wish we had.

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