DENVER, COLORADO……The past Saturday we were contacted by an individual that had rescued a dog from a high kill shelter in Georgia. HOSS had been discarded by a Georgia highway in a ditch with nothing but a food bowl. He was going to be PTS until this individual decided she wanted to save him. Many caring volunteers from Storytellers Express gave him his freedom ride from Georgia to Colorado. It was unknown at the time that Hoss was heartworm positive. That was not a problem for the people that brought him home. Arrangements were made for Hoss to get his Immiticide treatment from a vet in Colorado.
This wonderful dog was healthy as an Ox and had boundless energy. He was checked out by the Vet doing the treatment and was approved for the HW Treatment. Eleven days after his last two injections of Immiticide, Hoss became terribly ill. He was brought back to the vet and then became so ill he had to be admitted to Colorado State University Vet. Hospital. Hoss's calcium levels had gone through the roof. His blood work was all over the place and no one could figure out what had gone so terribly wrong. The person that adopted Hoss was doing everything possible to save him. She took out CareCredit to make sure he was taken care of. That will only go so far in ICU and she had reached her limit. By Sunday, I knew if I didn't step up for Hoss, he would not survive this horrible ordeal. Hoss was signed over to us so we could save his Life. Right now, his Life is in the balance. We have the best Specialist in the World consulting on what has to happen next. There is no time for error here. He is in ICU at CSU being stabilized while everyone is deciding what has to happen next to save him.
The reasons why I am so passionate about this case is that people take Immiticide Treatment for Heartworms far too casually. Things go wrong hundreds of times a day with this treatment. It should only be administered by professionals and not taken lightly. Treating heart worms is an Art. No two dogs are alike and each requires special care and evaluation to determine if it is the best course of action for that animal. For some it is and for others it isn't. Immiticide is Arsenic. It is a poison that can help or hurt your dog. Lots of tests should be run before it is ever administered to an animal to make sure they can survive the treatment.
Immiticide Treatment for Hoss set off a chain-reaction of events that has now put his Life in danger. Once this happens, the animals have to be taken immediately to a Critical Care Physician that knows how to deal with these circumstances. Each animal is different and you have to have someone that can interpret the lab results quickly to get the results you need. I see this all the time and too many animals die because of this chain-reaction of events.
I am not saying we can save Hoss. What I am saying is that I am willing to do whatever I can to give him the best possible chance to survive this horrible ordeal. This wonderful dog went from being saved and in a loving home to fighting for his Life. Look at the pictures. In the course of a month, his Life has spiraled out of control and he is now wasting away to nothing. He can no longer even stand up. Circumstances like this, I compare to a burning building. You either run in to save the people inside or you run away. Well, we are in the building and need your help to save this dog. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE donate toward his medical bills. They are going to be huge and we are all he has.
