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Help me with a decision, please

post #1 of 5
10/31/09 at 11:28am
Thread Starter 
We took the dog I found to the vet today for a pre-op and tests. Her cherry eye is infected now and she needs surgery for that badly. The original plan was to spay her at the same time. But she tested positive for heartworms and Lyme's, so the doctor wants to fix her eye, then do the heartworm treatment and finally, a few months down the line, spay her.

She apparently is not too infected with them as he's recommended a two-part treatement. I am however, concerned about it. Although she's worn her front teeth down to nothing, he doesn't think she's more than 4 years old. "A rough life can do that to you," he said.

That's what I concerned about - after her obviously rough life, is it cruel to put her through the treatment? I'm sorry - I don't know enough about heartworms to know what to do.

Any advice would be appreciated.

BTW - we named her Sadie Lou.
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post #2 of 5
10/31/09 at 11:34am
Well, If the doctor is hopeful, and willing to put her through the treatment... I would... Usually they don't if the case is anywhere near to be a lost case... As far as I know the bad part of the HW treatment are the first 48 hours - depending how badly the infection is... The only one who can give you a good opinion really is the Vet, IMHO, because he is the only one who knows in what condition her heart is.
Good luck,
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post #3 of 5
10/31/09 at 11:38am
Quote:
Originally Posted by carolinalima View Post
Well, If the doctor is hopeful, and willing to put her through the treatment... I would... Usually they don't if the case is anywhere near to be a lost case... As far as I know the bad part of the HW treatment are the first 48 hours - depending how badly the infection is... The only one who can give you a good opinion really is the Vet, IMHO, because he is the only one who knows in what condition her heart is.
Good luck,
I agree completely I would take the vets advice, if he didn't think it was right to give her treatment then he would tell you and I love her name sadie lou.xx
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post #4 of 5
10/31/09 at 4:57pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks Carolina and Ruthy:

I've talked to a few friends who have more experience with dogs. They agree. I called the vet back and asked him about her specific condition and he sounded surprised. He said she has a very good chance because her worms aren't too bad.

That relieved me. She's been through so much, I was worried about putting her through more torture and having her end up a sickly dog. I'll take care of her no matter what but I didn't think it was fair to put her through any more than I had to. I feel a lot better now.

Her eye surgery is scheduled for Tuesday (it's gotten infected, so he wants to attend to it right away). Then she gets her treatments and then she gets spayed.

Hopefully, in a few months, she'll be well and going to therapy dog training with me.
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post #5 of 5
11/1/09 at 4:30pm
Yes, heartworms are usually worth treating, as the dog will, most of the time, go on to live a long and healthy life. It's a terrible treatment (much better to prevent!!!), but it's over with fairly quickly and the dog will be fine afterward.

Poor dog! She's been through a lot in her life, it sounds like. Good on you for taking her in and making her life so much better!
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