[pyrnet] Health: care of heartworm positive dog

[Shirley McGreal <smcgreal@ippl.org>]

At 8.15 a.m. on Friday I received a call from a former employee named Ginny 
who works for the Charleston SPCA. She has the sad job of performing 
euthanasia among her duties. When working for me she helped with the care 
of our first Great Pyrenees Sebastien and on Friday morning, she checked 
the work list for the day and found a Great Pyrenees was to slated for 
euthanasia. The animal had heartworm and there would be no reprieve. Ginny 
was frantic and asked us please to get her out, so within half an hour my 
husband was on the way to the SPCA and came back with a very sweet scrawny 
and very dirty girl named Zoe. Definitely a Pyr, supposed originating in 
New Mexico, no breeder's name on file. We contacted Rescue in case things 
don't work out for her on our animal-full property here but she is so sweet 
and stays busy scampering around trying (successfully, to date) to score 
brownie points with us all.

Zoe's main health problem is the heartworms which is why the SPCA did not 
plan to put her up for adoption. She is also not spayed. She was an outdoor 
dog which means certain heartworm here for an unprotected dog. The owners 
signed her off as they were moving to Arkansas.

Has anyone any information on whether there is currently any treatment that 
does not require keeping a dog totally quiet for a long period? I have not 
had any experience with this disease. A vet suggested giving her a 
Heartguard pill as it would prevent new worms forming and would kill off 
existing ones within a couple of years. I also heard of a two-shot program. 
Another vet said the cost would be over $600 and that the animal would have 
to stay in the hospital for three days.

Zoe is 5 and unspayed, and I'm also wondering if it is safe to spay a 
heartworm positive animal?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.



Dr. Shirley McGreal, Chairwoman
International Primate Protection League
POB 766, Summerville SC 29484-0766, USA
Ph. 843-871-2280 Fax. 843-871-7988
E-mail: smcgreal@ippl.org, Website www.ippl.org

"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in
a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside,
thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming: WOW.... WHAT A
RIDE!!!!"