[baykerjames]

My husband and I just found out today that our beloved 2 year old beagle/terrier mix Bayker has a positive heartworm test. We did more blood work that was sent to a lab and will find out for sure tomorrow if he has heartworm although the vet said the liklihood of a false reading was slim.

Currently I am six months pregnant with my first child, a baby boy. I drive a beat up 97 Escort that has over 1000 in needed repairs that aren't worth getting, so we are just hoping it drives as long as it can. If anyone could just keep us in there thoughts we are really struggling with what to do. We have no extra money available right now without risking our home, or other bills, but we cannot lose our poor Bayker.

Prayers and encouraging words, or stories of anyone else who has dealt with heartworm in there dog would be greatly appreciated and needed. Thank you!

[Lara's mom]

Hi:

I'm very sorry to hear about your baby. There isn't much I can tell you about the treatment. I've never dealt with heartworm, nor have I ever known anybody who's dog had it. From what I understand, it is a much more serious issue in places that are warm all year around. It gets pretty cold in Canada in the winter so, I suppose if there is any around, the cold kills off the eggs. We give our dogs the preventative anyway. I think that on the whole, it is fairly rare here.

I can sympathize with your current situation. most of us have been there at one time or another. Try talking with your vet and see if he/she is willing to work out a payment plan with you. Best of luck to you. I hope everything works out.

[angiesample]

I am so sorry things are so hard right now.. i volunteer at the humane society and have seen what heartworm can do first hand to animals... if u decide to keep ur doggie, which i think u can, then just know its a tough road ahead. U might be able to get some ppl to sponsor your dog and raise some money for the treatment. Or u can host some kind of benefit in ur town to raise some money, have a raffle or whatever. Ask your local humane society if they have any suggestions and see if theres any places that have "low cost" animal care. Whatever u decide to do i will say a prayer for u and ur family. Good luck!

[Todd]

I am very, very sorry for this bad news. Heartworm is a very serious condition. Here's a link that may be beneficial for you talking about what it is and how it's treated;

Dog Heartworm - Information On Heartworms In Dogs - Canine Heartworm Medicine And Treatment

As you can probably tell from the article I provided you with, heartworm is a very dangerous condition and treatment itself is very risky. You'll need to keep your dog monitored by the vet frequently as drugs must be administered. Some dog's don't survive heartworm but this depends on the individual severity of the case and if it has spread to vital organs. This is why the disease needs to be treated at once.

There are also natural or herbal heartworm treatments but these should NOT completely replace drugs because of the risk involved with this very dangerous disease. These are meant to compliment the conventional treatment;

Natural Heartworm Program

Canine Heartworm Treatment - Homeopathy Heartworm Treatment

Natural Heartworm Treatment Helps Eliminate Canine Heartworm

Heartworm Cures

As suggested above, I'd talk with your vet about a payment plan. Pet insurance probably isn't an option because the diagnosis will be made already. I agree with running a fundraiser or setting up a site online which accepts donations. Let me know if you would be interested in doing something like this and I'd be more than happy to help you organize something. Also consider talking to your vet about setting up a donation area in his or her office. See if there's anything he or a local rescue group can do to assist or sponsor you.

Good luck and I feel for you. I sincerely hope everything turns out alright.

Todd

[Yogi]

Here, this is the link to several assistance sites that offer help with covering the cost of med treatment for pets. You should find help there....
AFRP Financial Assistance for Pets

[Todd]

Here's some more links to financial aid companies that deal with pets;

Having Trouble Affording Veterinary Care? : The Humane Society of the United States

American Animal Hospital Association
AAHA Helping Pets Fund
"Through the AAHA Helping Pets Fund, veterinary care is possible for sick or
injured pets even if they have been abandoned or if their owner is experiencing
financial hardship."

Angels 4 Animals
Angels4Animals- Guardian Angels For Animals- Financial Assistance for Pet Care
"Our services range from financial aid to complete treatment
to those pets and pet owners in need."

Care Credit
CareCredit Healthcare Finance - Payment Plans and Financing for Cosmetic Surgery, Dental, Vision, Hearing, Veterinary & Other Medical Procedures
A credit card company for health care, including veterinary care.
"With a comprehensive range of plan options, for
treatment or procedure fees from $1 to over $25,000, we offer a plan
and a low monthly payment to fit comfortably into almost every
budget."

Feline Veterinary Emergency Assistance (FVEAP)
FELINE VETERINARY EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE
"Seniors, People with disabilities, People who
have lost their job, Good Samaritans who rescue a cat or kitten - any of these
folks may need financial assistance to save a beloved companion."

The Feline Veterinary Emergency Assistance Program is a nonprofit 501
(c)(3) organization that provides financial assistance to cat and
kitten guardians who are unable to afford veterinary services to save
their companions when life-threatening illness or injury strikes.

God's Creatures Ministry
Help Support GCM's Veterinarian Charity Fund - God's Creatures Ministry -
"This fund helps pay for veterinarian bills for those who need help."

Help-A-Pet
http://www.help-a-pet.org/home.html
"Our efforts focus on serving the elderly, the disabled, and the
working poor."

IMOM
IMOM Home
"We are dedicated to insure that no
companion animal has to be euthanized simply because their caretaker
is financially challenged."

The Pet Fund
The Pet Fund
"The Pet Fund is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit association that
provides financial assistance to owners of domestic animals who need
urgent veterinary care."

United Animal Nations
http://www.uan.org/lifeline/index.html
"The mission of LifeLine is to help homeless or recently rescued
animals suffering from life-threatening conditions that require
specific and immediate emergency veterinary care. We strive to serve
Good Samaritans and rescue groups who take in sick or injured
animals. In certain cases, LifeLine can also assist senior citizens
and low-income families pay for immediate emergency veterinary care."

UK Assistance with Veterinary Bills
Assistance with Veterinary Bills
"Most of us can cope with the financial commitment involved in the
day to day care of our pets. However, how many of us come out in a
cold sweat when our pet is ill or injured and we know we have to take
it to the vet? Most of us are fortunate enough to be able to afford
it but, some of us who love our animals dearly cannot. Unfortunately
we do not have a PDSA or a RSPCA Centre within our area, but there
are a few charities who may be able to help."

Other groups who are breed or injury specific:

Corgi Aid
CorgiAid, Inc.

Dachshunds Needing IVDD surgery
Knology, Inc - Webspace Migration

Special Needs Dobermans - Helping Owned AND Rescue Dobes!
It's for special needs and senior dobermans who need medical help.You can donate
to help them, or have them put your dobie up there if you need help too!!

HandicappedPets.com
http://www.handicappedpets.com/Articles/help/
"From time to time, HandicappedPets. com recognizes a caretaker of
handicapped pets that need some special attention, and a little extra
help. There are those who are so selflessly dedicated to their animal
families that they give up a little more than they can afford."

Labrador Lifeline
2005 Abbey

LabMed: Rx For Rescued Labs
LABMED: Apply for Aid

Pit Bull Rescue Central

Pit Bull Rescue Central

[Todd]

CONT...

Here is a list of organizations that we found in other groups. Please cross-post and update as needed. For dogs and cats.

GENERAL

In Memory of Magic (IMOM) is dedicated to insuring that no companion animal has to be euthanized simply because their caretaker is financially challenged.
IMOM Home
IMOM, Inc
PO Box 282
Cheltenham, MD 20623
Phone (866)-230-2164 Fax (301)-599-1852


United Animal Nations established the LifeLine fund in 1997 to aid companion animals in times of life-threatening emergencies when their caregivers, with low or no incomes, are unable to afford the entire cost of treatment.
http://uan.org/lifeline/index.html
United Animal Nations
P.O. Box 188890
Sacramento, California 95818
Telephone: (916) 429 2457 fax: (916) 429 2456
LifeLine Fund - United Animal Nations : Programs : LifeLine Grants


Help-A-Pet is a nonprofit organization, which provides financial assistance for the medical care of pets whose guardians are unable to afford the expense
http://www.help-a-pet.org/home..html
Help-A-Pet
P. O. Box 244
Hinsdale, Illinois 60521
Telephone: (630) 986-9504 fax: (630) 986-9141


Feline Veterinary Emergency Assistance Programs provides financial assistance for emergency medical care for cats.
FELINE VETERINARY EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE
FVEAP
1641 Elizabeth Lane
Yuba City, CA 95993
Fax: 888-301-4264


DISEASE-SPECIFIC

Cancer

http:/ /www.helpy ourdogfightcancer.com/financial.html
http://www.caninecancerawarene ss.org/
http://www.themagicbulletfund .org/
Cody's Club Index


Diabetes

I MOM Diabetic Pet Fund
http://www.imom.org/diabetic-pets


Diabetic Pet Fund:
MUFFIN PET DIABETES SUPPORT GROUP


Special Needs cats

Cats in Crisis:
http://www.catsincrisis.org/crisisFund.html


Blind Dogs


IMOM Blind Dogs Fund:
http://www.imom.org/fa/contact.htm


Chronic Renal Failure (CRF)

IMOM Chronic Renal Failure (CRF) Kitties Fund
http://www.imom.org/funds/crf.htm


Cats in Crisis Mesa Fund
http://www.catsincrisis.org/mesaFund.html


Cats - Heart and Thyroid

Cats in Crisis Stripes Fund
http://www.catsincrisis.org/stripesFund.html


Cats - Neurological conditions and mobility impairments

Cats in Crisis Gillie Fund
http://www.catsincrisis.org/gillieFund.html


ASSISTANCE DOGS

Assistance Dog Partners
IAADP Membership Benefits


BREED-SPECIFIC

If you have a specific breed of dog, contact the national club for that breed. In some cases, these clubs offer a veterinary financial assistance fund. Here are a few websites for groups that provide financial assistance for specific breeds:

Bernese Mountain Dog
BEHAF - How YOU Can Help

Corgi
http://www.corgiaid. org/

Doberman (special needs)
Special Needs Dobermans - Helping Owned AND Rescue Dobes!

Great Pyrenees
intro

L abrador Retriever
LABMED
Labrador Life Line - Saving Lives, One Lab At A Time

Pit Bull/Staffordshire Terrier
Pit Bull Rescue Central

Westies
http: //www.westiemed.com/


American Animal Hospital Association
http://www.aahahelpingpets.org/home/
"The heartbreak happens all too often ? a pet owner is unable to afford treatment and their sick or injured companion animal pays the
price. If the owner is elderly, disabled or on a fixed income, the cost of care may be too much of a stretch for their pocketbook.
Perhaps they have been victimized by crime, property loss or a job layoff and are experiencing a temporary financial hardship ? making it too difficult to afford pet care. And some animals, brought to clinics by Good Samaritans, don't have an owner to pay for treatment. Whatever the situation, the fact remains the same: When sick or injured animals are unable to receive veterinary care, they suffer. Through the AAHA Helping Pets Fund, veterinary care is possible for sick or injured pets even if they have been abandoned or if their owner is experiencing financial hardship."


Angels 4 Animals
Angels4Animals- Guardian Angels For Animals- Financial Assistance for Pet Care
"Angels4Animals, a non-profit organization and a program of Inner Voice Community Services, has a mission to serve as the guardian angel of animals whose caretakers find themselves in difficult financial situations. At Angels4Animals we believe that animal owners should not have to say goodbye to the animals that they love. Our
work is accomplished in conjunction with veterinary clinics across the country, eager to assist as many animals, and their owners, as
possible. Our services range from financial aid to complete treatment to those pets and pet owners in need."


Care Credit
CareCredit Healthcare Finance - Payment Plans and Financing for Cosmetic Surgery, Dental, Vision, Hearing, Veterinary & Other Medical Procedures
A credit card company for health care, including veterinary care.
"CareCredit, the leader in patient/client financing, has helped more than 3 million patients/clients get the treatment or procedures they needed and wanted. With a comprehensive range of plan options, for treatment or procedure fees from $1 to over $25,000, we offer a plan and a low monthly payment to fit comfortably into almost every budget."


Feline Veterinary Emergency Assistance (FVEAP)
FELINE VETERINARY EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE
"The NEED & The HELP: Seniors, People with disabilities, People who have lost their job, Good Samaritans who rescue a cat or kitten - any of these folks may need financial assistance to save a beloved companion."


The Feline Veterinary Emergency Assistance Program is a nonprofit 501 (c)(3) organization that provides financial assistance to cat and
kitten guardians who are unable to afford veterinary services to save their companions when life-threatening illness or injury strikes.


Help-A-Pet
http://www.help-a-pet.org/home.html
"Our efforts focus on serving the elderly, the disabled, and the working poor. For lonely seniors, physically/mentally challenged
individuals and children of working parents, pets represent much more than a diversion."


The Pet Fund
The Pet Fund
"The Pet Fund is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit association that provides financial assistance to owners of domestic animals who need
urgent veterinary care. Often animals are put down or suffer needlessly because their owners cannot afford expensive surgery or emergency vet visits. Companion animal owners must often make the difficult decision to put an animal down or neglect urgent medical needs because of the costs involved. The purpose of the Pet Fund is to work towards a future where decisions about companion animal medical care need never be made on the basis of cost."


UK Assistance with Veterinary Bills
Assistance with Veterinary Bills
"Most of us can cope with the financial commitment involved in the day to day care of our pets. However, how many of us come out in a cold sweat when our pet is ill or injured and we know we have to take it to the vet? Most of us are fortunate enough to be able to afford
it but, some of us who love our animals dearly cannot. Unfortunately we do not have a PDSA or a RSPCA Centre within our area, but there
are a few charities who may be able to help."


Other Groups Who are Breed or Injury Specific:

Corgi Aid
CorgiAid, Inc.

Dachshunds Needing IVDD surgery
Knology, Inc - Webspace Migration


Hand icappedPets.com
http://www.handicappedpets.com/Articles/help/
"Fro m time to time, HandicappedPets.com recognizes a caretaker of handicapped pets that need some special attention, and a little extra
help. There are those who are so selflessly dedicated to their animal families that they give up a little more than they can afford."

Labrador Lifeline
2005 Abbey

LabMed: Rx For Rescued Labs
LABMED: Apply for Aid

ASPCA List of sites:IMOM Inc., Help A Pet
* The Pet Fund, The Pet Fund
* Good Sam Fund, www.goodsamfund.org
* United Animal Nations LifeLine Fund, United Animal Nations : Programs : LifeLine Grants

* Angels for Animals, Angels4Animals- Guardian Angels For Animals- Financial Assistance for Pet Care
* Brown Dog Foundation, home | Brown Dog Foundation - NonProfit Charity
* Feline Veterinary Emergency Assistance Program, FELINE VETERINARY EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE
* Feline Outreach, Feline Outreach
* Cats In Crisis http://www.catsincrisis.org* Orthodogs' Silver Lining Foundation (Orthopedic Cases and Service Dogs), Orthodogs' Silver Lining
* Canine Cancer Awareness, Canine Cancer Awareness
* Cody's Club (Radiation treatments) Cody's Club Index Diabetic Pets Fund MUFFIN PET DIABETES SUPPORT GROUP
* The Mosby Foundation, The Mosby Foundation

AAHA Helping Pets Fund
for needed medical care

Angels4Animals- Guardian Angels For Animals- Financial Assistance for Pet Care
helps animals who face being euthanized due to financial hardship

Home
Due to a decline in donations, grant amounts will be $75 - 100

FELINE VETERINARY EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE
California only

Help A Pet
To qualify, your annual income must be below $20,000 for an individual household or $40,000 for a family household (amount varies upon the number of dependents)

The Pet Fund
ALL applicants are REQUIRED to contact The Pet Fund by phone BEFORE applying for funding. Call 916-443-6007. This way, we can ensure that all applicants are aware of both the current wait list time and the eligibility requirements for applying for financial assistance.

United Animal Nations
Grants are $100-$300
LifeLine Rescue Grant: To help a rescued animal that has been recently (within one month) taken from a life-threatening situation.
LifeLine Individual Grant: To help pets with a responsible owner who cannot afford the cost of urgent and lifesaving care.

[Yogi]

Todd, are you bothering to read prior posts... these can be found in the link I gave them.

[Todd]

Originally Posted by Yogi

Todd, are you bothering to read prior posts... these can be found in the link I gave them.

Yes I read your post. The link you gave has some of the organizations I posted but there are some I gave that weren't on that site. I just though I'd post the full list rather than going through and deciding which ones to post and which ones not to. Sorry about that.

[cookie]

I didn't click on the links posted above, they mostly look like financial aid type sites, and info on HW infestation. I'm amazed, actually that there is so much help out there for animals and their owners who are in need!

I do want to say, though, that I've recently adopted a dog who is also HW positive--he was in the pound for a couple of months and had been picked up as a stray, which is where he most likely picked them up. He's a 4-5 year old, healthy seeming, energetic mid-sized dog.

I, too, was pretty devastated by this diagnosis, since everything I've ever heard about treatment has been "expensive" "difficult" "hard on the animal" "expensive" (did I say expensive?)

Well, my vet, and my daughter-in-law who is a vet tech, explained to me that the first order of business is to get the animal on Heartguard, which is a low dose of the medicine they actually use in an aggressive treatment for HW infestations.

Both the vet I took him to, and my daughter in law, and the vet she works for all told me that when you have an animal with a "light burden" of heartworms, you can use the option of "non-treatment", which is getting them on HW preventative (with the vet overseeing the initial dose--- just in case of a bad reaction). You follow thru with keeping them on the heartguard monthly, and the medicine kills off the worms, albeit slowly. There is the possibility of damage to the heart the longer the worms are in there, though--I'm aware of this.

An aggressive treatment, on the other hand, slams the worms with a large dose, killing most of them almost immediately. If the infestation is extensive, you have to do it that way. This is the expensive, difficult on the animal treatment. Again, if you have a heavy burden of heartworms, this is how it HAS to be done.

But if it's just a slight, low positive (as my dog is), you do have the option of just putting him on the heartguard and letting it slowly kill off the worms and preventing him from getting any more. This is the course I am taking with my Mickey, and he is doing very well on it. You would not know he has anything wrong, he runs, plays, is not apparently sick in any way.

Anyway, this may be an option for you with your sweet Bayker. Congratulations on your new baby-to-be, and good luck with all this! Please let us know how it goes and what you decide.

[CorkyMax]

I prob. shouldn't be posting right now because I am in a hurry and don't have time to thoroughly read all that has been posted, BUt I feel this is important to say: I am thinking Mr. Vega had mentioned this before and I can't find it right now to quote, darn! Please check into this --If you kill too many heartworms at once --it may kill the dog because of the danger of too much blockage or something---Need help here explaining--anyone?!! Just feel it is important to check on this --Please do! Sorry, I can't say what I want to but do know this is a dangerous undertaking--to kill them too fast!

Hey, I'm back and I took the time to find the quote from Mr. Vega ('our own' going to vet school member!) and here it is: The goal (in the world of heartworms) is to prevent them from developing past the larval stage (which is what those preventatives like Revolution do). Once worms are allowed to become adults, they are not really affected by the preventatives. They will harbor in the right side of the heart and reproduce.

So why does that make me think it's dangerous? There's a condition associated with rapidly detaching and killing heartworms. HARD - Heartworm assocated respiratory disease. It was first defined in cats, but, can happen in dogs. If a bunch of adult heartworms are sudden forced to detach , they're going to go the flow of blood (there's nowhere else to go). So, what's the next stop? Right heart ----> Pulmonary capillary beds. Yes, the lungs. Thats where HARD steps in. The detached worms can't pass through the thin pulmonary capillaries and act as pulmonary embolisms = bad, bad, bad, bad, bad.

[Mr. Vega]

Well, i'm back again. Did you miss me cork?

So, you kinda have to take that info on H.A.R.D. and look at it in the right context. Similar disease will occur in dogs if treatment is not done correctly. When I wrote that, I was worried about the adulticidal treatment that website was advertising. It gave me the feeling they were advertising a 1 dose kill-all method. Which, is definitely not what you want.


Currently, the American Heartworm Association recommends that a dog with heartworms be treated with the 3 dose adulticide (fast kill) method. Their position (which is also the position of most cardiologists) is that using a 1 or 2 dose kill will cause too many worms to be killed at once and thus will endanger the animal. The 3 dose method goes like this: 1 injection of an adulticide is given. At least one month later, the dog recieves 2 more adulticidal injections that are to be spaced at least 24 hours apart.

Their opinion is also that the "slow kill" method (using heartgard/ivermectin) is NOT a preferred method of treatment. The reason is that this method, on average, only gets 80% of the adult worms and over time (as the dog exercises and does its usual thing) the dog will develop more extensive lung disease than if it had been treated w/ fast kill method.

It seems that the OP is probably not in a position to do get the adulticidal treatment, so, I'd have to say they're doing the best they can for this dog right now. I mean, it's better than doing nothing. So, I applaud you bakerjames for doing what you can. That baby is more important than the dog...

[CorkyMax]

Big coincidence! Just picked up an older (only 8-9 months old) issue of The Whole Dog Journal--August 2009 that I happened to find lying around my 'messy' house! Title of article: Update on Doxycycline and Heartworm Disease---subtitle: A safer and more effective alternative to to slow-kill method of heartworm treatment----Will read the 1st sentence:
Heartworms harbor a symbiotic organism called Wolbachia, and that treatment with doxycycline to destroy the Wolbachia could reduce the chance of adverse reactions during heartworm treatment.

I am not going to type in this whole article--not suppose to anyhow! But there were 'net' references at the end of the article for more info. So am going to paste that here:

Vet Parasitol. 2008 Dec 10;158(3):204-14. Epub 2008 Sep 7.
Heartworm and Wolbachia: therapeutic implications.
McCall JW, Genchi C, Kramer L, Guerrero J, Dzimianski MT, Supakorndej P, Mansour AM, McCall SD, Supakorndej N, Grandi G, Carson B.

Department of Infectious Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA. jwmccall@uga.edu

Abstract
A safer, more effective adulticidal treatment and a safe method for reducing microfilaremia and breaking transmission of heartworm disease early in the treatment are needed. The present study evaluated efficacy of ivermectin (IVM) and doxycycline (DOXY) alone or together (with or without melarsomine [MEL]) in dogs with induced adult heartworm infection and assessed the ability of microfilariae from DOXY-treated dogs to develop to L3 in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes and subsequently to become reproductive adults in dogs. Thirty beagles were each infected with 16 adult heartworms by intravenous transplantation. Six weeks later, dogs were ranked by microfilarial count and randomly allocated to 6 groups of 5 dogs each. Beginning on Day 0, Group 1 received IVM (6 mcg/kg) weekly for 36 weeks. Group 2 received DOXY (10 mcg/(kgday)) orally Weeks 1-6, 10-11, 16-17, 22-25, and 28-33. Groups 3 and 5 received IVM and DOXY according to doses and schedules used for Groups 1 and 2. At Week 24, Groups 3 and 4 received an intramuscular injection of MEL (2.5 mg/kg), followed 1 month later by two injections 24h apart. Group 6 was not treated. Blood samples were collected for periodic microfilaria counts and antigen (Ag) testing (and later immunologic evaluation and molecular biology procedures). Radiographic and physical examinations, hematology/clinical chemistry testing, and urinalysis were done before infection, before Day 0, and periodically during the treatment period. At 36 weeks, the dogs were euthanized and necropsied for worm recovery, collection of lung, liver, kidney, and spleen samples for examination by immunohistochemistry and conventional histological methods. All dogs treated with IVM + DOXY (with or without MEL) were amicrofilaremic after Week 9. Microfilarial counts gradually decreased in dogs treated with IVM or DOXY, but most had a few microfilariae at necropsy. Microfilarial counts for dogs treated only with MEL were similar to those for controls. Antigen test scores gradually decreased with IVM + DOXY (with or without MEL) and after MEL. Antigen scores for IVM or DOXY alone were similar to controls throughout the study. Reduction of adult worms was 20.3% for IVM, 8.7% for DOXY, 92.8% for IVM + DOXY + MEL, 100% for MEL, and 78.3% for IVM + DOXY. Mosquitoes that fed on blood from DOXY-treated dogs had L3 normal in appearance but were not infective for dogs. Preliminary observations suggest that administration of DOXY+IVM for several months prior to (or without) MEL will eliminate adult HW with less potential for severe thromboembolism than MEL alone.

PMID: 18930598 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

For anyone who wants to see the site: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18930598