People wonder why I am so adamant about heartworm preventative! This is precisely why!

Elaine my Austin volunteer went and pulled this sweet boy.

Elaine says: Quote: Sad news about the poor little one from TLAC. I named him Little Pebbles after the street where he was found. I took him straight to the emergency vet from the shelter. His abdomen was really swollen and he could barely walk, but was a sweetheart the whole time. Evaluation showed that he was in the last stages of heart failure. TLAC had drained more than a liter of fluid last night, but I think it was all back this afternoon. Even if we had drained it again, it would have returned. The right side of his heart was basically non-functioning and the fluids which should have been distributed by the heart could only accumulate in the rest of his body. All this damage had been done by the heartworms which now filled his heart and he was having trouble just breathing from the pressure on his lungs.

Surgery would require opening the jugular vein and manually extracting the worms. This is done at very few places in Texas, mainly A&M vet school. The emergency vet estimated this could run as much as $6,000 or more. And of course the poor boy most likely wouldn't have survived the surgery. So we made the tough decision to end his suffering. I will bury him in my pet cemetery in the back yard. May he rest in peace. I know he has lots of loving company at the rainbow bridge.

Another sad ending that could have been averted if his owners had only given him regular preventative. I'll forward some photos tomorrow; he was quite handsome. It's strange, but a rescue friend had just sent me a video of the surgery that Little Pebbles would have had to undergo. The Lab involved couldn't be sedated and only had a local for the surgery. You can hear the vet and nurses talking while the vet is pulling the worms from the heart. It's very graphic, but I wish we could make everyone who decides not to use heartworm preventative on their dog watch it.

Please send your kind thoughts and prayers to Little Pebbles. He didn't deserve to suffer and die like this, but hopefully he was comfortable with hugs and kisses at the end.

Elaine

Wanda's note: Elaine was wonderful to hold and cuddle this sweet boy at the end so he was not alone or in a shelter when he passed. This poor boy was only 8 years old. He should not have passed this early. Heartworms is not an easy death as you can see from what Elaine has written. What she didn't write is that when they get this bad the heart has enlarged significantly and is pressing on the lungs making breathing difficult. I am sure you know someone who has heart and lung problems and how much pain and suffering they are enduring often for quite some time before the end of their lives. This is not something that a sweet dog should have to endure when it is so easily prevented.