CHARLIE (Frenchie)
BEAUFORT, SC...Irresponsible Breeders are everywhere. The news is full of hoarding cases with Back-Yard Breeders. The conditions these sweet, innocent Souls are forced to live in makes me want to grab the responsible person and put them in a cramped, fouled kennel with no food and water. My heart aches for these dogs and their suffering.
I was on my way home after a long day at the Rescue. I was mentally and physically exhausted from all the work at Noah's Arks Rescue and our Retail Store called Fetch Mkt. My dear friend Tallulah at Beaufort County Animal Control called to ask for help with a Frenchie that had been brought in. Charlie is five years old and was in Respiratory Distress from an over-load of Heartworms. He came from a breeder in Savannah, Georgia.
All of the Vets that saw him said he needed to be put down today since he could not breathe and was suffering. I usually say for them to send me pics and his info, but today my gut said I had better go by to make sure nothing happened to him before I made a decision. I turned my car around and went straight to the shelter. I asked for the staff to please bring Charlie out, which they described as being on Death's Door.
I waited for a few minutes, and what I saw coming through the door was not a dog that was ready to die. I saw a heavy panting Frenchie with a distended belly from all the fluid build-up racing toward me as if to say, "Hurry-Up, Hurry-Up, get the door open. We have to get out of here before they put me down." I immediately had someone take him to CVRC in Charleston, SC, where our Cardiologist, Dr. Sophy Jesty, was waiting for him.
A simple $5. pill would have prevented this beautiful breeders Stud Dog from having Heartworm Disease. If money was her objective, then she should have thought about the fact she was killing her Stud Dog. STUPIDITY beyond Belief. Adorable Charlie has Caval Syndrome, which is a life-threatening illness caused by a mass of heartworms located aberrantly in the right atrium, the ventricle, and often the vena cava.
Dr. Jesty evaluated Charlie and came up with a plan to stabilize him as best they could so he could have the heartworms extracted tomorrow. He had to go into the Oxygen Chamber, where he would remain until he was stable. He was given lots of meds to help with the inflammation, and his belly was tapped to get rid of excess fluid that had accumulated from his weakened Heart Condition.
Most Rescues would never take on a dog in this condition, knowing he would die if the worms were not extracted. You cannot kill this many worms internally without killing the dog. We have saved many a dog by removing the worms. It is costly but is a Life-Saver in 99% of the cases. Worm Extraction has its risk, which you have to know going in. Some dogs are too far gone and do not survive the procedure. We have never lost one, but I know our day is coming.
When small dogs have advanced Heartworm Disease that progresses to Caval Syndrome, it does not take a lot of worms to kill them. Each worm grows to be very long and causes a massive amount of damage. Dr. Jesty removed sixteen worms out of the right heart, and his blood pressure and oxygenation immediately started to improve. Charlie is a little loopy from the drugs but is back in Oxygen and will have to remain there until his body has recovered from the procedure.
We now have to wait and allow our little boy the time he needs to recover. Charlie will have to remain in ICU in Oxygen for several days until Dr. Jesty thinks he is stable enough to get out. Heartworms cause a lot of damage to the heart muscle because it makes the heart work harder. Some of those changes will reverse, but others will not. The way Charlie raced through the Shelter door tells me this boy is going to have a good prognosis. Attitude is everything when it comes to surviving abuse and neglect.
Once Charlie is well, and out of danger, he can be adopted into a loving home. In the meantime, we have to pay for his Medical Bills. We didn't plan on taking on a dog so soon with everything we have going with Ghost. Sadly, that is how Life it, when it rains, it pours, and right now it is pouring abused, tortured dogs that are falling right at our feet.
