"Sheva" was estimated to be 2 years old when she came into her family's life and into Veazie Veterinary Clinic. She wandered into a church that her owner-to-be was working in. Pregnant and horribly underweight, Sheva was hardly at her best. A trip into the Doctors brought more bad news. She was positive for heartworm. She also had whip worms and hookworms. Treatment for the heartworms during pregnancy was a risky proposition, so it was decided to wait until after her delivery.

When the puppies were weaned, Sheva was hospitalized for treatment of the heartworms. An x-ray showed minimal changes to the heart, so eliminating the heartworms would likely be the only treatment necessary for her to get back on her feet. By the time she was ready for treatment, she had enjoyed significant weight gain. She started at 31 lbs halfway through her pregnancy and was up to 43 lbs post-puppies with just good nutrition!

Sheva was admitted to the hospital for treatment of heartworm. Several injections were administered to kill the adult heartworms. Heartworms are carried by mosquitoes and when a dog is bitten a larval form is deposited in the skin and eventually matures and migrates to the heart. An infected dog can have many heartworms. Untreated, permanent damage can be done to the heart. Once the adult heartworms are killed, they travel to the lungs where they are slowly eliminated by the body. It was essential that Sheva stay very quiet during this stage of treatment. A follow up treatment was given to eliminate the microfilaria (larval heartworms).

Sheva was a lucky dog. Thanks to treatment and loving owners, she continues to live a happy, healthy life. After the treatment, she was put on heartworm preventative to make sure that she was never at risk again.

For more information on heartworm prevention and treatment visit www.heartwormsociety.org.