It’s good to hear that, because I’m 95% sure he had a test at his physical last year. I was expecting to hear something today, though, not that it would have made a difference to how much I worry.
I’m hunting but can’t find anything from when I got the meds - I’m not even sure it was Pet Meds. I could produce a credit card statement, though - but then how can I prove I actually gave Hap the chews?
You bought the meds every year at the same time… for a monthly medication, 12 doses per year… Going by good faith, you gave the drug every month.
It’ll be hard to prove your case, but maybe try talking to the company (I forget which one markets Heartguard… Merial?).
I actually bought it from the vet until maybe a year and a half ago, and I stocked up whenever I ordered them, so I don’t have a regular ordering history or anything. But I’ll certainly give it a try, now that I’ve realized it will show on my credit card.
Well, he’s home. Seems okay. Thing is, I’m supposed to keep him quiet for 30 days. Quiet! I mean, have you ever met a terrier? The notes say to walk him on a leash, don’t leave him outside, don’t let him get excited - I don’t really let Hap get excited, he kind of does that on his own.
I’m kind of torn about the instructions. Of course I don’t want him to drop dead of a brain embolism, and I won’t leave him outside all day when I’m at work like I usually do. But he’s 15, he probably has a tumor, and he loves lying around in the sun outside. I may decide to minimize the risk but still let him go out on his own if it’s not too cold and I don’t think it will be too exciting. (Not Halloween, not when the mailman’s making his rounds, etc. I don’t let him out on Halloween anyway.) Honestly, of all the ways he could (and will sooner rather than later) die, an embolism seems pretty good. Dying suddenly while barking at some kid on a bike is probably the way he’d choose to go.
It’s not a quick painless instant death, if it’s in the brain it could cause seizures. If it’s a lung embolism or an aortic embolism it could be worse. He could end up coughing profusely, cough up blood, go into respiratory distress and die in agony fighting for air. If he got an embolism in one of the large arteries it could cut off blood flow to other parts of the body, like his rear legs, kidneys and other organs. That would be a slow death as all his organs and rear limbs died. Most of the times that I’ve seen dogs die after heartworm treatment it’s due to a lung embolism.
I know this sounds very harsh but my point is that we tell people they have to keep their pets extremely quiet after heartworm treatment for a very good reason. Please keep him as quiet as possible.
The vet knows the dog is a terrier. Just keep him as quiet and calm down as possible. And it seems you’re planning on doing that.
Oh, crap. She made it sound a lot faster than that.
I just treated a dog for heartworms. The orders were quite clear. Crate confinement 24/7, with only leash walking in order to do her business. The threat of pulmonary embolism is severe.
I must say, I am surprised your vet recommended treatment. My vet, who is *extremely *proactive when it comes to treating dogs, would not even consider the injections for a dog that old, and with a heart tumor no less. Maybe vetbridge will chime in.
She definitely didn’t say he needed to be crated 24/7, just that he may need crating if he can’t be kept pretty calm and that he should be kept mostly indoors and comfortable. I turned up the heat for him.
Yesterday he was really quiet and seemed to be in some pain (had trouble getting in the car) but today he’s completely back to his old scampery self. Christ, I think he gets more excited when he sees the leash than he does most of the time outside by himself, though. He might be better off going out in the yard off leash with me there to keep an eye on him - he goes nuts when he just hears the leash.
I apologize if I caused you to panic or worry more but you seemed to be under the impression that if he died of an embolism it would be quick and painless, and I was concerned you would not take the confinement seriously enough and you’d come this far with him. If you’re with him and able to watch him and keep him from getting too excited and running around then you probably don’t need to crate him, but if you’re not there to watch him you might want to crate him unless that makes him even more agitated, if he’s not used to being crated. If that’s the case then confining him to one room he’s comfortable in would have to suffice.
Again, I am sorry if I freaked you out.
It’s okay, I appreciate the information. (Well, it sounded like a nice painless way to go…) He’s not accustomed to being crated, so I figure he’s better off staying in his nice familiar laundry room. The plus is that he can’t see out the windows there. I don’t want him here in the rest of the house if I’m not here, because he gets excited by the windows. I think I’m pretty much taking reasonable precautions, but there’s really no way to ensure that a dog like Hap stays calm 24/7.