Update 2-14-14: Brownie collapsed and died this morning from a pulmonary embolism as a result of heartworm disease. He had immiticide injections on Jan 15-16 to kill the adult worms and had struggled to recover since then. He had good days and bad days but after a rough week, he just couldn’t fight any longer. Brownie was the most gentle, sweet, and loving 5 year-old Chocolate Lab. It’s absolutely heartbreaking to watch a dog go through this when the disease is completely preventable.
Please don’t let Brownie’s death be in vain. Make sure your dogs are on monthly heartworm preventative. Be an advocate for dogs everywhere and try to convince family, friends, coworkers, neighbors, and anyone who will listen about the dangers of this deadly disease so their dogs are protected too. Heartworms are spread by mosquitos so all dogs are at risk. Coyotes and foxes can also get heartworms which is partly why the disease is becoming much more prevalent in Northeast Ohio. If a mosquito bites a heartworm positive dog or coyote and then bites your dog, your dog will have adult heartworms living in the heart and circulatory system within 6 months. Treatment to kill the worms is costly, very tough on the dog, and as you know from Brownie, not all dogs will survive the treatment. Without treatment, a dog will die a slow and painful death from heart failure. Prevention is easy and is the key to battling the spread of this disease. Please visit the American Heartworm Society to learn more.
http://www.heartwormsociety.org/
Please keep all of our other heartworm positive dogs currently going through treatment in your thoughts–Lulu, Wink, Ty, Goldie, Betsy, Blanche, Quincy, and Dudley. Two more HW positive dogs will be arriving this weekend and will start treatment soon–Ladybug and Sweetie.
Brownie is a 5 year-old Chocolate Lab male with an outstanding disposition. He found himself homeless at an overcrowded county dog shelter and also tested positive for heartworms there so he made the trip to Canine Lifeline to get the lifesaving treatment that he needed. We can’t say enough good things about this dog–he is a dream! Brownie has the most gentle, kind demeanor. He loves attention from his human pals and likes to get lots of hugs. He gets along great with dogs of all sizes and has been so well-mannered since he arrived here with us. Brownie has excellent crate and leash manners and is likely to be housetrained too. He had his heartworm treatment the week of January 13 so should be ready for adoption in mid-February after 30 days of cage rest while he recuperates. Brownie weighs about 65 pounds and his adoption fee is $200. He’s neutered, current on monthly heartworm preventative, up to date on vaccinations, wormed, on flea preventative, and microchipped. All Canine Lifeline adoptions come with a two-week trial period to make sure it’s a great match before the adoption is finalized. Please email info@caninelifeline.org if you’re interested in Brownie. An adoption application is required before a meet is scheduled with any of our dogs. We try to respond to inquiries within 24 hours of receipt so if you haven’t heard from us within that time frame, please check your junkmail or spam folder to make sure our reply hasn’t landed in there. Brownie’s heartworm treatment will cost about $450. If you’d like to make a donation to help with his medical care, please visit our website at www.caninelifeline.org or send a check to Canine Lifeline PO Box 25742 Garfield Hts OH 44125. Thanks from Brownie and Canine Lifeline!
