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.
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