Friday, May 20, 2011

It's Time to Medicate!


No, I am not making muffins!  It is the way I get all the monthly flea and heartworm meds dispensed properly.  All dogs must be protected from these pests. I write each dog's name in the bottom of the baking cup.  Heartworms are a huge problem in the south.  All it takes is the bite from  one infected mosquito and your dog gets the heartworm.    Several of our older rescues have heartworms.  The treatment is so expensive that we cannot afford it.  The current price to treat a 50 pound dog is somewhere around $500.00.   Fortunately, none of the seniors have any symptoms, and we treat them monthly to make sure they do not get any more.  I am happy to report that two of our dogs that had a high positive two years ago now have a low positive.  In time, they will test negative.  We just pray that they do not have any damage to the heart while we are making progress.

Since changing to Comfortis, we have not had a flea problem.  Comfortis has the medication uniformly throughout the pill, so you can cut the larger ones in halfs or quarters to save money!   All new dogs are given a Capstar pill and a flea bath/dip before they are allowed in the kennel area.  We have not had to use chemical sprays or poison in the exercise area at all!  I hope our good luck and prevention methods continue to work.

Sometimes I think I am running a dog hospital!  At this very moment we have 5 dogs that are taking daily medication.  Some of the dogs just require a week or two of antibiotics, but others will require medication for quite sometime.  I have to have a chart so I don't forget who gets what and when!  I should have gone to vet school!!! 

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