Thalia (aka Pinkie!)

The life of a foster mom is tough. You always love your foster, and you feel a pang when your foster goes, but every once in a while you get a foster who wraps little tendrils of herself all around your heart. That's how it is for Thalia's foster mom. Here's a note from her about Thalia. The photos are from a recent hydrotherapy appointment.


"This little lady arrived on our doorsteps on February 13, 2009. She was found in a shelter in St. Bernard Parish (outside of New Orleans). Full of heartworms and with a very obvious problem walking, she was set to be put up for adoption. Luckily, FBRN was able to scoop her up. Her name was Ophelia which seemed too tragic, so she was rechristened as Thalia in honor of the Muse of Comedy - however, after gazing on her precious face with her pink cheeks and ears, she was very quickly given the nickname Pinkie which suits her to a T.



Little Pinkie (weighing in at a very thin 18 pounds) was quickly rushed to the vet where she had x-rays taken to determine the cause of her unusual walk. It was then that we discovered an old injury to her spine. I had been told that she may have been bitten by another dog when she was a puppy. This could be possible - she could also have been hit by a car, or a million other things that are in her past now. It was determined that while an orthopedist or neurologist may be able to help, the best course of action for her was physical therapy. But first we had to tackle the heartworms.

Again, because she is so thin and her heartworm disease was pretty advanced, we decided to go with a slow-kill method which involves giving her Heartguard in small doses over several months building her up to be able to take her regular monthly dose. In order to get her ready, she was placed on multiple vitamins and supplements to strengthen her heart and her body.
We have just completed the last split-dose of Heartguard - she will take a whole dose in June. The Heartguard kills off the microfilariae (baby worms) so they can not grow into adults. She does still have adult worms but they will die off over time which will be easier on her system that a fast kill with lots of worms dying at once. So our hope is that she will be completely heartworm free within the next 6-9 months.We were told to expect coughing, lethargy, loss of appetite - not with this girl. She just kept going - she has an amazing little spirit.

We have also started her in physical therapy. Her first visit was last week - she had range of motion and muscle measurements taken, she got some massage, and finally she got to walk on the underwater treadmill. She exercised for a full 12 minutes. We are hoping that this week she will go for 14. While this will not cure her injury, our hope is that it will help her build muscle and improve her coordination. Thalia/Pinkie also receives daily massages at home on her shoulders and neck and has her back legs and joints exercised.
I believe we have seen some improvement and hope that after her initial visits we will go to a maintenance schedule (maybe once every two weeks, or once a month to maintain).

Here is the best thing about Thalia/Pinkie - she just wants to be a good girl. She wants to be close to you, wants to know where you are and what you are doing.
She is so very appreciative of any attention she receives. People ask me all the time how I can give her up - I tell them that she deserves her own special home with her own MaMa and Daddy (she shouldn't have to share with my two bad Frenchie boys). I just don't want her to be overlooked because she may still have some heartworms hanging around or because she walks funny. She is an incredible little dog and with so much love to share.

Right now, Thalia/Pinkie is keeping it real in New Orleans where she enjoys walks along the bayou, sniffing around the French Quarter and sharing an oyster po-boy with her foster dad. Pinkie also likes chewing on nylabones, watching basketball, and sleeping in the big bed. Pinkie does not like the beagles who walk down the street every evening (seriously, she hears them coming from two blocks away). Sadly, we have been told that she sounds like she has been debarked - but she does have the cutest tiny bark I have ever heard - very fierce! Beagles Beware!"

A fiesty little Cajun she is! Keep it up, chere! Keep those streets clear of those floppy eared, long tailed menaces, eggs on

The Frog Princess

Heartworm: You Should Probably Get Some Preventative This Weekend

A Good Samaritan acquired Aiyana through a Craigslist ad.  You can see photos of this poor dog's condition when the Good Samaritan took her home--emaciated and heartworm positive.  Aiyana's kind friend bought her plenty of healthy groceries and prepared her for her move to FBRN and continuing veterinary care for her overall condition and specifically the heartworm.

Aiyana has continued to gain weight in our care and is looking and feeling much better!  In a recent update, her foster mom said:

"Aiyana is doing great. She continues to put on weight and is up to 30lbs now. She loves her foster bro and gets along with him so well. They play all the time and do great on walks together. She will be going back to the vet in a week or so to see if she is healthy enough to start on her heartworm meds. There have been no potty accidents at all in the last few weeks so she is doing great with that. She continues to be the sweetest thing ever and loves to give kisses and hugs!!"

Heartworm treatment is difficult and a long haul.  At the moment, Aiyana, Alabaster (photo, right), Jelly, Elphie and Goji are all receiving heartworm treatment in foster care.  Many of you will remember some of our tough heartworm cases like Gris-Gris Benoit and Muffin and Thalia.  Smeagol also has heartworm but he isn't strong enough to undergo the treatment to get rid of them, so he is living with them.  Some of the hospice kids--like Pixie--have it or did have it.  Bart and Lisa, Harvey, Spangles, Mr. Big, Twila, Violet, Iris, Mouse, Beau, Miz Biz, Crockett, Jolie, and Chumley all came to us with heartworm.

Heartworm used to be something only people in the southern US really worried about.  Not anymore.  Even areas where heartworm was virtually unheard of, like the Pacific Northwest, are now reporting cases in significant numbers, thanks to the increase and ease of travel, among other things. 

Heartworm treatment has changed over the years, and we are very fortunate that even dogs with advanced cases of heartworm, like Muffin and Thalia, have successfully endured their treatment.  But treatment is still painful and can be dangerous, and requires an extended period of rest and special care.

Elphie offers a royal raspberry to the pernicious heartworm as she spends her weeks in crate rest while undergoing treatment.

It's important to provide your dogs and cats with heartworm preventative.  For some people, heartworm preventative is a year-round obligation, and for others it's more seasonal.  For much of the country, now is the time to start your spring/summer preventative treatments--if the robin and the Easter bunny come, can the mosquito be far behind?  Sadly, no.  And some of those little suckers are going to be toting microfilaria that could kill your unprotected Fido if the larva they deposit into your dog develop into heartworms.

You don't want that.

We'd hate to see it.

                                  Goji gets some cuddles from a friend following his initial dose of heartworm treatment.

Talk to your vet and see about getting a prescription for a heartworm preventative.  Somewhere in your area, it's very likely that there's a hungry skeeter looking for a meal.  Maybe in your neighborhood.  Maybe in your backyard.  Maybe buzzing in your Frenchie's ear right this very minute!

(We never hesitate to use fear as a motivator here in the Frog P's kingdom.  If it gets the job done, the ends justify the means, that's our feeling.)

Off to be sure the screens are in,

The Frog Princess

Thalia

Beautiful Thalia of the spotted ears came to us from a shelter in the New Orleans area.

She is facing some uphill battles, chief among them an advanced case of heartworm. She's also got some mobility issues, and xrays show some damage to a hip and back leg.

However, she is not slowed down even a little bit by her occasionally droopy back end, she just keeps on moving until the back legs catch up with the program of forward movement!

Her foster mom said that this girl, who was supposed to be resting following the spay surgery the shelter did while her foster mom prepared a room for her, instead strolled out into the hallway and down into the living room where she appropriated and peculated all the resident dogs' toys before enticing them into a rousing game of Who's the Boss Around Here? Thankfully, her foster mom discovered the girl's awol status and set her up to recuperate properly. Did she get to take any of the resident dogs' toys with her?

Look at that face. What do you think?

We're willing to reckon she did, offers

The Frog Princess