Straydog UPDATE posted MONDAY 3/3/03 at ~10:14 p.m. CT

Pat Arnold's Daily Dog Log

MONDAY MARCH 3 2003

Mama Dog (of Tenison Golf Course Family) is resting at our vet clinic

      At 9:30 this morning I went to our vet clinic to see "Mama Dog Laura" who was rescued yesterday at Tenison Golf Course in Dallas. (She is the mother of Bear, who is now Jesse-Bear, who was rescued two weeks ago).

      Donna carried Mama Dog Laura to the examining room and gently laid her on the lift table. The big Black Chow showed no interest in moving. Her belly is very distended from all the fluid, caused from advanced heartworm disease, and it was very obvious how very sick she is.

      The doctor came in and looked over the health report the emergency vet clinic in Dallas had sent after Mama Dog Laura's emergency visit there, and then he examined her too and said her prognosis is not very good. She has an advanced case of heartworm disease and the treatment could kill her.

Dr. Morton said we have three options:

      1. If we treat her for heartworm disease, she can very possibly die from the treatment, have only a 25% chance of surviving the treatment.

      2. If we do nothing, she will most certainly die very soon.

      3. Dr. Morton could euthanize her now because she has such a slim chance of surviving anyway.

      Whenever the prognosis for a health problem is grave, yet there is just a slight chance of saving the life of a dog (or pup), we always want to take that chance, unless, of course, the dog is suffering. Right now Mama Dog Laura feels very sick, and the three years she lived the harsh life as a stray has brought her to this point in her life but she is not suffering. She just feels really lousy. And if she does pull through, we will give her or find her a wonderful home and a wonderful life.

      Then Dr. Morton and I discussed a different method of heartworm treatment that we could use for her. The normal method used by our doctor for treating dogs with heartworms (who are not advanced cases) is to use Immiticide in one treatment, which consists of two injections. This is when the dog goes one day for an injection and then the following day for a second injection, and the treatment is done--except for keeping dog very quiet for several weeks. (We've had 10 dogs with heartworm disease, and all have been treated successfully, and most are now with their adoptive families.)

      With Mama Dog Laura, once we get her feeling better by getting the fluid out of her lungs and belly, over the next few days, then the doctor will treat her heartworm disease by giving just one injection of Immiticide. Then three or four months later he will give her the second injection. This should kill the worms more slowly than the regular method of treatment and should be less harmful to her weak condition, although the doctor warned me again that this is still very risky.

This is the tough part of our mission: having to make very difficult health decisions, and then going with the decision we've decided upon

      Deciding to go ahead with the one-dose treatment now and a second dose later was a tough decision for us to make. But if we don't take this one slim chance to save the poor dog's life, she will die very soon anyway of advanced heartworm disease. I called Pam and told her what we've decided to do, and she agrees to do whatever we think is best.