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| Heat pack to help my aching muscles |
I'm Buddy Holly. My foster's like to call me Nutty Buddy. But, I'm not feeling very nutty at the moment. I know my foster's and everyone at the Middle Tennessee Golden Retriever Rescue is worried about me. When I came to the rescue, they had me checked out by a vet. Even though I seemed healthy, the vet said the lab results came back and I am heartworm positive. That means I have to go through a treatment to kill them. This is AWFUL! First I spend two nights at the vet (away from my peeps). I get a shot the first day, way down deep in my muscle. It feels like I've been kicked by a horse! Then what happens the second day!? The vet does the same thing on my other side. I am feeling old before my time!
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| I am one sick puppy! |
Most dogs don't get as sick as me after the treatment. But, let me tell you, this is no golden moment. I am so lucky to have been surrendered to the Middle Tennessee Golden Retriever Rescue. They are paying for all my medical care. I overheard someone say, "This isn't cheap." I guess they believe I am worth it. I know my foster's feel I'm worth it. I don't know if my previous family couldn't afford the prevention medicine, didn't think I was worth it, or thought their dog wouldn't get heartworm. But, here I am, fighting for my life, so everyone will know Buddy IS worth it!
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| Heartworms |
This is what those nasty heartworms look like. Would you take a pill once a month to make sure this wouldn't happen to you. I sure wish I was given that pill. As you can see by my face, once we get heartworms, the treatment can be risky. And, it can be very expensive (Oh, don't I know, now). But, if I hadn't recieved the treatment, my life would have definately been cut short. I wouldn't get to act nutty anymore.
If you don't think this can happen to your dog, just look at the map below. This map shows the incidents (detected) in 2007. The more dogs who don't get the monthly pereventative, the more likely we are to harbour these worms. Do you feel lucky? I sure don't (except for having been delivered to the Middle Tennessee Golden Retriever Rescue). Thank YOU MTGRR! I hope I can pull through this, and make you proud.
