Saturday, June 18, 2011

Zeus

I am so disgusted.

I had my suspicions about Zeus, the new rescue, confirmed today.  He has heart worms, hook worms, whip worms and parasites.  Not to mention that he had previously broken 2 toes, and they were never 'fixed' right, and his teeth are beyond bad with 2 being rotted in the back.

I feel compelled to go beat someone's ass, and then over again for good measure.

I am so sickened at the thought of this dog once being a hall of fame racer, and now in his current condition.  You wouldn't think anything is wrong, he is so loving, sweet, and happy.

I am hopeful since he did gain 2 pounds since last Saturday which is very good.  We are starting all of his treatment tonight, and everything aside from the heart worms will be easy to get rid of.  The heart worms will be treated for the rest of his life, but at least they will be treated.

I am always 'preaching' to my friends that get a dog - or any damn animal for that matter -  about the care that is so important for them, and if you can't fucking afford groceries or toilet paper then maybe you shouldn't have an animal!  One simple pill a month could have prevented Zeus from getting the heart worms - which are fatal in adult dogs if not caught early enough.  Heart worms are caused by the animal being bit by an infected mosquito, and now he will be on his treatment for the rest of his life.

He has lived the last at least 5 years with no preventative care, no shots, rabies vaccines or anything, and on a diet that caused him to lose hair, and have dry skin.  The parasites, and worms have been sucking every last nutrient from his body.

I know these things can get expensive, but if you care enough to have the animal, you should care enough to seek out clinics and/or programs that offer low cost vaccines and neuter/spay programs.  You also need to research the benefits - besides over-population - to having your animal spayed/neutered.  There are cancer risks, behavior modifications, and a number of other benefits.  Your animal won't just lay around and get fat after being fixed unless you allow it to - even keeping toenails trimmed to proper length keeps them from getting splints in their toes or causing serious damage to toes and joints.

I have had Missy on the Wellness plan with Banfield hospital at PetSmart since we have had her, and to date the plan has saved me nearly $5,000.00.  I pay a monthly fee, and all of her yearly vaccines are covered, all preventative care is covered, office visits, and I get very good discounts on thing that may not be covered which is rare.  Now we have Zeus on the plan, and he can finally get the care that he needs.

So, if you think it necessary to have an animal you need to also find it necessary to be able to properly care for them.

1 comment:

  1. Sometimes it's hard to see the good in humanity.

    Love you for caring enough.

    ReplyDelete