Post by Wolf on Jun 14, 2016 10:38:36 GMT -5
So I haven't been around lately, but I could really use the support of this community right about now.
I took my dog to the vet yesterday, just for a routine checkup, get his vaccines, etc. A lot of it is free for me because I recently got a job at Banfield as a vet assistant, which I'm ecstatic about. I love this line of work, even on the hard days.
Yesterday was definitely a hard day.
It's my day off, I take my little sister and the dog to the vet, we walk him around PetSmart for a while, and finally we're called back. The techs take him, get bloodwork, all his shots, no problem. They bring him back to us and we sit for about 20 minutes. I almost knew it was coming - my dad had told me that he hasn't kept Rascal's heartworm prevention up to date, but I still had my fingers crossed, hoping we'd dodged a bullet.
We didn't.
Rascal came up heartworm positive, and very positive at that. He has numerous microfilaria in his blood, and he's probably an early stage 3 (out of 3). We're going to try to treat him, but the treatment to kill heartworms is very hard on dogs.
So this is my plea - if you have a dog, please, please, please, if you do nothing else for him, keep their rabies and heartworm prevention up to date. The cost of preventative for a full year is about 1/10th the cost of the actual treatment. It's a "hassle" giving them a pill every month, but the prevention is more than worth it. I would have given anything to not have to walk back into the exam room and tell my little sister that her dog has heartworms, to not see her face crumple, to not have to listen to her cry all the way home, it hurts my heart. That's her cuddle buddy, her best friend.
Prevention is worth it, you guys. Please.
I took my dog to the vet yesterday, just for a routine checkup, get his vaccines, etc. A lot of it is free for me because I recently got a job at Banfield as a vet assistant, which I'm ecstatic about. I love this line of work, even on the hard days.
Yesterday was definitely a hard day.
It's my day off, I take my little sister and the dog to the vet, we walk him around PetSmart for a while, and finally we're called back. The techs take him, get bloodwork, all his shots, no problem. They bring him back to us and we sit for about 20 minutes. I almost knew it was coming - my dad had told me that he hasn't kept Rascal's heartworm prevention up to date, but I still had my fingers crossed, hoping we'd dodged a bullet.
We didn't.
Rascal came up heartworm positive, and very positive at that. He has numerous microfilaria in his blood, and he's probably an early stage 3 (out of 3). We're going to try to treat him, but the treatment to kill heartworms is very hard on dogs.
So this is my plea - if you have a dog, please, please, please, if you do nothing else for him, keep their rabies and heartworm prevention up to date. The cost of preventative for a full year is about 1/10th the cost of the actual treatment. It's a "hassle" giving them a pill every month, but the prevention is more than worth it. I would have given anything to not have to walk back into the exam room and tell my little sister that her dog has heartworms, to not see her face crumple, to not have to listen to her cry all the way home, it hurts my heart. That's her cuddle buddy, her best friend.
Prevention is worth it, you guys. Please.