We brought home our new dog, Nessie, (like the Loch Ness monster!) on 4/10/10 from the local shelter. She’s about two years old and is a Shepherd, Shar Pei mix. She was picked up as a stray and has some scarring around her ears where the hair is missing. She has been spayed and chipped. Unfortunately, the Vet discovered that she has heart worms. We were surprised to learn that they are treatable. In the past, a heart worm diagnosis was usually fatal. However, now they are treated with a powerful arsenic based injection. Two shots are required over a two day period near the spine by the base of the tail. This leaves the dog weak for a couple of days. While the injections are working and the heart worms are dying, the dog has to be kept calm. Too much activity before the heart worms are absorbed could cause them to break loose and travel in the blood stream causing further problems. It will take three or four weeks to completely absorb the heart worms. She returns to the Vet in a couple of weeks to have some tests run. She has been a real trooper throughout and is doing well. I’ll add an update here on her progress.
