Duke's heartworm journey - Day 1...

On the day we picked up Duke after his neuter surgery, the shelter informed us that Duke tested heartworm positive. Well my heart just sank. I racked my brain on all the episodes on Animal Planet on heartworm treatment.  I was worried about our other three dogs. They told us that it isn't passed by sharing a water dish. It is only passed by a mosquito. Also, the shelter changed his status from 'adopted' to 'foster to adopt' and they would pay for all his treatments. PRAISE THE LORD! I know it's very costly. 
We have a plan in place. He will be on doxycycline for 28 days. (I put his meds in his food bowl.) He will go in for another blood test. Then he will have an overnight stay to get two injections of immiticide. Then another 30 days will pass. He will do another blood test. God willing, he will test negative. At that point his adoption will be finalized on January 13, 2020. 
After all that, he will finally visit the family vet on February 13th to test for presence of microfilaria. Six months from that date, he'll do an antigen test. 

It's a long road to his recovery. I will be documenting his journey here. He's a great pup. He is an older pup & you can see the wisdom in his eyes. Thankfully he isn't so active. He mainly sleeps all day. Which is great because they need to stay calm during the treatment course. He loves going outside to enjoy the sun. He follows me E-V-E-R-Y-W-H-E-R-E. I have to be careful where I step. He is already house-trained. He sleeps in bed with hubby & I and the rest of the pack. Yup, our bed is packed. He's a great sleeper. We love him so much already. He's been a member of Red Dog Sanctuary for a week now. It's like he's been here all along. 

Meet the pack...

All our pups are from Bradshaw Animal Shelter in Sacramento. They're all mix with probably some Dachshund in them. Three of them we adopted in the year 2014. The last one to the pack was adopted in 2019.

Buster...

He's the first in our pack. We saw him & he was so playful saying, "LOOK AT ME"...so we adopted him. We named him after Andy's dog, Buster from Toy Story. He is a total shop dog. He loves to hang out in the yard with his dad. Buster's nickname is Buster Brown. 

Bonnie...

She rules the pack. She is just so awesome. We believe she might be Doxie/Beagle. She has a sassy paw. She actually says, "WOOF" when she wants to be fed or is looking at you. We always say, "Don't look into her hungry eyes. She's already been fed." She is named after the little girl that Andy gave his toys to in Toy Story 3. Bonnie's nickname is Bon Bon. 

Bullseye...

Bullseye is very special. When we first met him he was originally suppose to be Buzz Light-year. As the shelter volunteer tried to get him, he was running all around the room trying to get away. So it was like 'run like the wind Bullseye!' and that is how he got his name. She was super scared when he was visiting us. I sat with him for an hour talking about our home and about Buster & Bonnie. After an hour he finally stopped shaking. His ears came forward & he fell asleep in my arms. He is forever a 'mama's boy'. He is truly the best cuddle pup. His nickname is Bully. 

Duke...

So Bradshaw was running a $25 adoption special. We decided to check them out. I filled out the paperwork & told them what we were looking for. They told me they had a few dogs that met our criteria. Now, my hubby & daughter were already checking out dogs & came across him before the shelter staff took me to him. Oh, my heart. He was prefect. He was so calm when we were doing our meeting. No fear at all. We got to the shelter about an hour before closing & told me that they would hold my paperwork for Sunday. We went back to finish the adoption. Duke is named after Duke Caboom from Toy Story 4.  Duke is another 'mama's boy'...glued to my hip. He's my shadow. 

So there you have it...our pack here at Red Dog Sanctuary. They are well loved.  They complete our home. This blog is about their adventures here on the homestead.