Welcome to HEART!
Ragazzi's Fund Raiser Event
Help HEART continue to support the animals in our care by eating your HEART out at Ragazzi's Restaurant of Cary! On August 4th, Ragazzi's will donate 20% of sales to HEART! To participate in this fantastic fundraising event, please go to Ragazzi's website to print out a coupon! While you're there, print out a few extras to give your friends!
Where do donation funds go? The bulk of HEART's expenses go to veterinary care. HEART spays and neuters every dog and cat that enters our program. We have all pets vaccinated for common illnesses and for rabies. All dogs are microchipped. All dogs are tested for heartworms. 10% of the dogs that enter the HEART foster care program are heartworm positive. HEART treats all heartworm positive dogs before they are adopted out to their new forever homes!
We have other expenses as well. Over the last year, in addition to treating heartworm positive dogs, we've:
- had a dog's spay stitches, internal and external, fail. The dog's intestines were sitting on the ground in front of her. She had to have emergency surgery to put everything back together. 12" of intestine had to be removed.
- Romeo, our dog with severe allergies, had multiple visits with the NCSU veterinary clinic for further diagnosis and treatment
- Treated two dogs for eye injuries
- HEART is currently treating one dog for mange. Once that is resolved, she will have to visit the eye specialist about spots on her eyes and then visit an orthopedic surgeon to discuss the severity of her luxating patellas (both knees) and treatment options
- Too many dentals to count! Our little Odie had to have his last five teeth removed! Other dogs had multiple teeth removed, all because of dental neglect!
- Two eye removals for dogs with deformed eyes
- Long term treatment for a dog that had bladder stones
- Ongoing treatment for "dribbling" of one male dog (incontinence)
- Various office visits with vets to diagnose and discuss health issues
On top of medical care are medications- lots of them! Not only antibiotics and pain relievers. At any one time HEART has about 60 dogs in the foster program and 20 cats. We must cover monthly flea prevention and heartworm prevention.
There are administrative costs running a rescue group as well. Food, paper, ink, paper towels, trash bags, pee pads, garbage bags... Everything adds up! We try to supply our fosters with everything they need to foster, but we simply can't always meet the needs! Every penny donated helps animals in our care.
Please participate in the fund raising event, eat a fantastic meal at Ragazzi's, and help a lot of great dogs and cats at the same time!
Heartworms- an Unseen Health Issue
Approximately 10% of the dogs that enter the HEART foster program test heartworm positive. Heartworms are transmitted to dogs by mosquitoes. They bite an infected dog and then transfer the baby worms to the healthy dog's bloodstream. As the worms grow, they lodge in the heart. If they remain untreated, over time, they will migrate to the lungs and cause more damage. The worms inside the heart prevent proper blood flow.
You cannot look at a dog and know they are heartworm positive. Keeping your dog indoors does not keep your dog safe from heartworms. Feeding your dog a special diet does not prevent heartworms. The only thing that prevents heartworms in dogs is heartworm preventatives. ALL DOGS IN NORTH CAROLINA should be given heartworm preventatives! For more information about heartworms, please visit the Heartworm Society website.
Tiffany, a beautiful Shih Tzu, is our latest heartworm positive dog. Note that she is a small breed dog normally kept as an indoor pet. This did not prevent her from getting heartworms! If you'd like to contribute to her treatment, please click on our "donate" button!
Napoleon, an older Border Collie mix, tested positive for heartworms. Unfortunately, his heart has an erratic heart rate that puts his life at risk, if he is treated! Napoleon will be receiving an alternative treatment for heartworms which is easier on his body. He will remain on heartworm preventatives for the rest of his life. Over the next two years, the worms in his heart will begin to die a natural death and disintegrate. In two to two-and-a-half years, he should test negative for heartworms and will be considered heartworm free. He will then need to continue his heartworm preventative program for the rest of his life to prevent a re-infestation! It is hoped that his heart condition will improve as the adult worms die off.
Biscuit, a great little Cairne Terrier, tested positive for heartworms. He was treated earlier this year and is now in his forever home!
Many people believe that toy breeds do not get heartworms because they are kept inside most of the time. Let us introduce you to Blondie. She is a petite Chihuahua that tested positive for heartworms. If your dog goes outside for any period of time and is bitten by a mosquito, heartworms can be transmitted to their blood stream. It's just not worth the risk. Not only is the treatment hard on a dog's body, it is also quite costly, far above the small cost of preventing the infection in the first place!
Blondie was treated for heartworms earlier this year and is now in her forever home!
