WEDNESDAY, April 30, 2008, continued - Page 3

Heartworm prevention pills given to every dog

     We had already picked up (at the Morton Clinic) our full order ($1,000+) of heartworm prevention pills, and today was the day we were going to give the Sentinel pills. We've switched back to Sentinel because it has drug in it that sterilizes male fleas along with killing heartworms. Today we gave this very important pill to every single doggie here. We also talked to our newest employees and let them know how important these pills are for the dogs.

JoJo and Little Max2 go to Dr. Reeves for a retest for heartworm disease

     Today was the day that I would be taking JoJo and Little Max2 to get a third opinion about whether or not they have heartworm disease, before we decide what are we going to do to treat them. I left the shelter at 3 p.m. taking with me JoJo and Little Max2, heading for Tyler, where we had an appointment with Dr. Reeves at four p.m. We got there just in time and Dr. Reeves was waiting for us. I took both doggies in, and oh my, our little guys were were so nervous. They were shaking so hard, and they didn't want to stay.

Unfortunately, both JoJo and Little Max2 do have adult heartworms

     I talked to Dr. Reeves and told him what had happened so far. We sure didn't want to make a mistake. The doctor totally understood. At Dr. Morton's clinic they had done the Snap test, and it came out positive right away. At Dr. Cornelius's clinic, they did the test using the microscope, and it showed to dogs to be negative. So Dr. Reeves wanted to do both tests and see what we came up with. Dr. Reeves got a little blood sample from both of our little ones, and saw the adults heartworms under the microscope. Dr. Reeves showed me how to look for the heartworms under the microscope, and yes, I saw them. Next the doctor got two of the Snap tests going with a timer, and it wasn't even time for the test to be over when we both saw the red line coming across. "They are both positive for heartworms, Juana," he said.

JoJo and Little Max2 get their first treatment for heartworm

     Well, the doctor said we can do a more natural, holistic treatment, but it will take long, long time to kill the worms, or we can do the injections of immiticide, which, is a strong poison, but in the long run, you really save time and money, and something needs to be done. I agreed to go ahead and get their first heartworm treatment shot immiticide today. We won't have to come to Tyler again for another injection for another month.

      Dr. Reeves gave both fellas some pain medicine that was going to make them sleepy and relaxed, so we waited a little bit for this to kick in. After a little bit, the dogs were ready for the doctor to give them their first heartworm treatment. The doctor also told us not to let these little ones run or get too excited. We need to keep them quiet and come back one month from now. Doctor also gave me some medicine for them, and some supplements to help their heart and liver.

A Big Thank You to Dr. Reeves

      The best part of this was that, as always, Dr. Reeves gives us a very good discount. He did two dogs for the price of one. He only charged us for one heartworm test, not two, and he only charged us for one vial of medicine of the heartworm drug. Including the supplements he gave us, wow, the total of all of this was only $129! Thank you so very, very much, Dr. Reeves!

     JoJo, Little Max2 and I didn't get back home until almost seven last night. They both were very tired and hurting. Lacie and Roberto had already set up a separate crate for our fellas. They will have to stay mostly in the crate and be walked on leashes for the whole month. We don't like this, but we have to do this for their own good. Poor babies, but at least we got them started on their treatment. Sorry I didn't take the camera with me, but our batteries had run out of juice and the other camera had a full memory.