I aquired a 2 year old 45 lb. rescue dog about a month ago that was abandoned and left outside for the five months following hurricane Gustav (I live in New Orleans). We took him to the vet and he was diagnosed with moderate to severe heartworms. The vet suggested a two-month treatment and he went in for his first shot today. I am really worried about him and have not been able to find a lot of relevent experiences online. My biggest concern is restricting his activity for 2-3 months. He is a young and active dog. Any ideas about keeping him quiet and optimistic? I want him to be happy and healthy. Does anyone have any experience with heartworm patients and their aftercare?

Wow, that's quite a way to start a relationship with your new dog. Bless you for being willing to face this with your new dog. I do have experience, unfortunately. You can read some of my experiences in my blog at A Life Reclaimed . It's very hard for me to admit that both my beloved dogs developed heartworm because of me.

In October of 2007, I spent three weeks at my father's ICU bedside while he was dying. One month later, my sweet Libby began coughing quite severely at night. I took both dogs to the vet for a check-up and they were both diagnosed with heartworms. Libby's was more advanced and severe than Sabastian's. Both dogs were 11-years-old at diagnosis. Because of the holidays and the vet wanting to be available for any emergencies that might occur after treatment, we agreed to postpone treatment until January 2008. She did warn me that Libby might not make it through treatment.

Both dogs received their first treatment the first week of January. Sabastian would experience no complications from the treatment. Being older dogs, it would not be difficult to keep them calm. Unlike Sabastian, Libby did experience complications. We almost lost her the week before she was due for the second treatment. I remember sitting on the floor of the camper trailer we were living in and holding her and praying for her and anointing her with oil (I'm Pentacostal...it's what we do!) and begging God not to take my baby. Dr. Kathy and I talked about what to do--whether to give the second treatment or not. She did some research and explained that Libby would not make it without the treatment but her odds were slim with the treatment. Perhaps it was the guilt over her being sick in the first place...perhaps it's just what we mothers do...but I decided Libby needed a chance. We did the second treatment. Over the next several months we would almost lose Libby twice more--at one point actually discussing euthansia. But, each time she would rally and look at me with her big doe eyes that said, "hey, Mom, don't give up yet." As Spring turned to Summer, Dr. Kathy was concerned about Libby and Sabastian being in the heat (I didn't have A/C) so a daycare system was enacted--both dogs went to stay at the vet's office each day. This also enabled Dr. Kathy to keep a close eye on Libby and drain her ascites fluid when necessary.

Oh, yeah, ascites fluid. In humans, in congestive heart failure, fluid will collect around the heart and lungs...sometimes stomach. In dogs, mostly it collects in the stomach cavity. This was a big complication for Libby. She would get the fluid drained once or twice a week.

Libby would also have bouts of anorexia. She would just refuse to eat. She didn't feel well. But, we couldn't have her not eating because this can lead to the organs shutting down. So, we were constantly challenged to find something she would eat.

Anemia was another issue. I learned to check her gums and tongue to see what color they were because any call to the vet's office would have that and "is she eating" be the first questions they'd ask.

Throughout all of this, Sabastian was doing just fine. You would have thought that he hadn't gone through treatment at all. His Lyme Disease seemed to give him more trouble than the heartworm treatment.

In October 2008, Libby started having more bad days than good. After a particularly bad weekend, on October 20, I took her to Dr. Kathy's office. Dr. Kathy and I agreed that Libby had given up...there's was no more fight left in her. I made the decision I had dreaded making. She was taken back to be prep'ed and rather than wait for them to put her on a table, she made her way to "her spot".

You see, during all those daycare stays, she would get to have "the penthouse suite"--a specially nice area that was babygated so she didn't have to be in the cage. So, while laying on blankets in HER penthouse suite, me holding her head, Libby went quietly to Rainbow Bridge. The vet, the techs, and I all cried rivers.

Sorry, that was probably more than you wanted to know. The moral of the story is that some dogs go through treatment just fine and other dogs experience complications. With a young dog, keeping them calm may be a challenge but with the new treatment modality, I don't think you have to keep them as calm as was necessary in the old treatment modality. I remember that as a kid, before preventative was developed, our family GSD developed heartworms at the age of 1 year. We had to keep her very still for two months. That was NOT easy. Talk to the vet and make sure you understand what activity is and is not okay.

Frecs,
I am so sorry about your loss but is is a comfort to all that Libby was clearly loved greatly. Thank you for the advice, I plan on asking the vet a ton of questions when I pick the dog up this afternoon.

So please tell me more about heartworm: How does infestation occur, what are the symptoms to look for, how is it diagnosed, and how much does the test cost? Heartworm really isn't much of a problem in my area, so dogs here are not routinely put on preventative, but still, I worry...

Originally Posted by Mydogiscute

So please tell me more about heartworm: How does infestation occur, what are the symptoms to look for, how is it diagnosed, and how much does the test cost? Heartworm really isn't much of a problem in my area, so dogs here are not routinely put on preventative, but still, I worry...

Heartworms are carried by mosquitos. They pass the larvae to a dog with they bite them. The larvae migrate to the heart where they mature and multiply.

Basically, there are no symptoms until it is very advanced. In fact, for some dogs the first "symptom" is death. But, a typical sign of advanced heartworms is coughing...especially night time coughing.

It is diagnosed with a simple blood test that can be done in the vet's office with results in just a few minutes. I don't remember off the top of my head how much I pay for the annual test...maybe $20? It's worth it because even with preventative, sometimes it still gets through.

Heartworm preventative costs approximately $6-$10 a month.

Treatment for heartworms will cost you from just shy of $1000 on up depending on size of dog. Then, if there are complications you have that expense as well. Clearly, prevention is much cheaper than cure. In the area where I live, a dog that hasn't been on treatment WILL get heartworms.

Thanks, Frecs.