[Dailydrool] Heartworm

[Yolanda]

Fifteen years ago, I had never heard of heartworm.  We had a wonderful black 
lab mix boy named Beethoven at that time who faced each day with joy and 
enthusiasm.  Well, he did until he started losing weight and his beautiful 
shiny black coat became dull and brittle.  We took him to the vet who said 
yes, Beethoven was a very sick guy and that he had heartworm.  The vet then 
brought out one of those five-gallon jugs with a preserved heart infected 
with heartworms.  I honestly thought I was going to throw up right on the 
vet's shoes.  My happy, loving and handsome boy was dead four days later. 
There will never be any words said that will stop me from giving my furkids 
heartworm preventatives all of their lives.  Winters here in Michigan have 
been much milder the last several years, so I give it twelve months a year. 
I will never, ever put another dog through the misery of heartworms again 
... and I don't ever want to go through losing another furbaby to that 
hideous disease again, either.

Yolanda Lyons