First Vet Appointment

Rishu went to her first official vet appointment this morning. While we knew she is a high positive, we wanted to see how badly damaged her heart is from the infection so we took some x-rays.

The x-rays showed that her heart is 2x the normal size of what it should be. It also showed that the arteries leading into the heart were enlarged from the worms as well. The vet prescribed a steroid and antibiotic for one month before we start treatment. Since Rishu is high risk, we needed to weaken the heartworms before treatment.

The vet also noticed that all of her teeth are chipped. We had known they were bad, but I got a better look at them today. She will need a full dental in about six months after HW treatment to clean up her mouth. She has several teeth where they are chipped off at the root of the tooth making it very painful for her. She also has a SEVERE ear infection. We've put her on some ear flush and meds to see if that helps. If not, we'll do an ear culture to see if something else is going on like mites, etc.

She did eat a can of dog food today and even some dry food. She seems soooo thankful and happy to just have a nice soft bed and some human affection. As I type this she is sleeping right next to me, glued to my leg.

I also want to thank Karen H. for her kind donation this week.

Thank You

I want to thank all the people who have donated to help Rishu. This really means a lot to us and to Miss Rishu.

THANKS

Mom! - I love you!

Erika B. - You're a great friend!

Lisa H. - You ROCK!!!

Sarah S. - AWESOME!!!

Tina S. - Thanks a million!!!!

Christine D. - WOW!!! Tail wags!!

I really do appreciate it!!!!! More than words could ever tell you.

Home Sweet Home

She's home!!!!!!!

She's a petite girl weighing around 32 lbs. She's actually the same size as Kirby, our Basset/Dachshund mix.


She is in rough shape, but man is she a sweetie. She has NO front teeth (bottom or top). Her canines are chipped. We believe she has either a) ear mites or b) a yeast infection in her ears. She was sooooo thankful we cleaned her ears. She also has a small lump on her back.

Her vet appointment is tomorrow at 9:15am. I spoke with our vet (whom we love) for about a half hour today talking about treatment for her since she's a high positive. She will be going on a month of two different medications (I don't remember the names), but one will fight the bacteria HWs thrive on and the other will help build her immune system. A month from tomorrow she will have her first treatment (so she's healed from her spay). AND then six months from now some dental work.

Here she is at home. We have pictures of picking her up, but they were saved on the internal memory - so we've got to figure how to get them off.

Lucky Fiona's Support

It feels pretty amazing when people you support come back to support you.

Lucky Fiona makes some AWESOME collars. She can even make them in a martingale style for a surcharge.

Anyways - she has stepped up to help Rishu by offering $7.00 from each The Cat's Pajamas collar sale to help for Rishu's treatment. If you're looking for a cool collar, check her out here:

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=20589121

Don't forget to bookmark her shop for future reference. I can tell you that we have washed our collars over and over again, and they are all still in GREAT condition.

Thank you Lucky Fiona!!

Rishu's Journey

Meet Rishu.

Rishu is an owner surrender at 8 years old. She was dumped at a high kill shelter that isn't known for their clean environments. Her time was very, very short. Only two-three days at max.

Unfortunately, all the rescues were full and no one was able to take her in. Her time would be up in one day.

I decided that we could not possibly let that happen. So we stepped up to adopt her as a private citizen in hopes of helping her find her forever home and having a second chance at the good life.

After our decision to get her, the shelterdiscovered she is heartworm positive and understood if I no longer wanted her. They told me if I wasn't coming for her still that they would euthanize her immediately since she was already at the vet.

OF COURSE I WAS STILL COMING TO GET HER!!

She will be coming home tomorrow. She needs heartworm treatment, which is going to run around $500. Can you help give this old lady a second chance?

If you can find in your heart to donate just a dollar to help Rishu, I will be forever grateful. Rishu deserves a second chance at the good life.