May 24, 2009
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Ollie, 29 April 2009
Ollie will be undergoing heartworm treatment soon. We are worried about him because of his respiratory problems, he could easily die from the treatment. Our vet is consulting with the Univ of Georgia and Auburn U to determine the best protocol for the heartworm meds. We’re considering a half-dose for the first injection, the rationale being that we will kill fewer of the heartworms and cause less distress for Ollie. The thing is, this protocol isn’t in the literature. Typically, the first dose kills 50 to 60% of the worms, this could be fatal if they block an artery.
Ollie weighed in at an all-time high 85 lbs on Friday!
Thank you all for your support. I will update as things change.
Me and my spiffy Rocky & Bullwinkle coffee mug
Comments (9)
Looks like you are giving Rocky a great life… I hope the heartworm treatment works and he continues to thrive in your care
What a wonderful photo of Ollie! I hope the treatment goes well and he continues to thrive. He’s looking great! Almost as great, in fact, as your Rocky & Bullwinkle mug…
You look like you really need that coffee! Ollie is soooo cute, and sooo big. Hope he does well.
We’ve had many a heartworm positive dog come through our foster system riddled with the nasty creatures and survive the initial treatment and find fantastic forever homes to boot. Lack of activity of any kind is the key and also the most difficult to do because Ollie looks like he likes his running. He looks great and 85lbs. is no small accomplishment. Bravo foster dad and best of luck to Ollie on his first treatment!
@rubyblue123 - Thanks! Ollie has a mass in his lung that appears on x-ray but Drs don’t know what it is. He has trouble breathing so they don’t want to use the full dose on the first treatment and cause additional respiratory problems. Ollie loves to run so keeping him subdued is going to be a challenge.
I’m almost afraid to ask. How’s Ollie?
@FifiOToole - Ollie is doing pretty well, actually. He had his first heartworm treatment on 7/20 so he’s on restricted exercise but we’re taking it in stride. Without his daily walks he has a lot of built up energy that he’s using to be bad, otherwise, all’s well so far.
@GadusMorhua -
Whew! I was worried about him. Dammed, evil heartworms! As for the pent-up energy, I wonder if Benadryl works on dogs like it does on kids? (insert grin here)
How’s Ollie?