In January we welcomed Patrick into our program. Yesterday we had to help him cross the rainbow bridge. His heartworm disease was too advanced and his tired little body couldn't keep up with the damage to his heart and other organs. Patrick's foster mom adored him and was with him to the end. These are the last photos she took of our sweet, dear boy.
$6.00/month could have prevented his disease.
You might remember his as the dog found wandering in the marsh.
Here's his story:
1/23/07 - Patrick (Pat) is the dog that was found wandering around a marsh and was taken to Chambers County Animal Control. The vet in Wallisville neutered and vaccinated him for us. He is heartworm positive, has hookworms, is very thin and has little to no muscle tone in his body, so he has had very little food and exercise in the weeks before he was found. He also has a skin irritation on his body and around his eyes that could be caused by allergies or wandering around in the salty marsh water for weeks. He was also covered in fleas. He is now wearing an Elizabethan collar because he was bothering his neuter incision and it started to gape slightly and drip small amounts of watery blood. He also has an older wound on his scrotum that needed to be looked at so we took him back to our vet yesterday. The old wound will need hydrotherapy once a day for the next 2 weeks. This basically consists of spraying water on the wound for 3 minutes to allow the water to debride the wound and gently take the top layer off causing some slight oozing or bleeding. This will help stimulate new and healthy tissue to grow in. Pat has very dirty ears – possibly ear mites and he's being treated for them. His ears are pretty sensitive right now and rather than hold him down to get in there and do a proper exam and culture - we'll treat them for the next week and give them a chance to fell better before we get in there and really bother the poor guy. He also has wounds on both ears that the vet believes were caused by fly bites. These small biting flies are very common in marshy areas and can be a real problem for dogs without shelter to protect them. OK – so basically Pat is a mess and despite all of this he is a real sweet heart and a very calm dog. We picked an expensive one to try and help but he seems so very worth the time, money and effort. He has already costs us $385.58 and we're still facing heartworm treatment and possibly boarding expenses. He is currently a a kennel near my home where I can check on him daily and help with his daily hydrotherapy sessions. This is one of the few kennels where we know that he will rcv the best of care and rcv his meds as needed. He is currently in an indoor luxury suite right next to the kennel office (at no extra charge to us). He has a bed and TV and gets walked 3 times a day. He's going to be spoiled rotten by the time he's ready to move on.
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