Update on Linda McCartney

We dropped Linda off at the animal hospital yesterday. We drove 5 hours to Hiawassee, GA because our dear friend's (Jon) dad is the vet there & we trust him to take care of her. If all goes well, we'll drive back on Sunday to pick her up.

In going through all of the paperwork from where we adopted Linda last March, I realized I have no proof that she tested heartworm negative last year. We adopted her through a rescue group, but we got her at animal control. I assumed the vet who spayed her & gave her her shots, also tested her for heartworms, but no such luck. The vet did not test her. Apparently animal control tested her, but forgot to fax her test results to the vet. So alas, no one can prove that a) she was ever tested; b) what the results from that test may have been.

Obviously, she's being treated regardless, but knowing the results from last year's heartworm test are important. First of all, it would be helpful to know how long she's had heartworms. Secondly, we've had her on Heartgard for the entire year we've had her, so if she tested negative last year, has been on Heartgard all year, & tested positive this year, Heartgard will reimburse Hilty for part of the cost of her treatment.

I've been working with the rescue group all week & they're trying to get me her treatment sheet from last year. They confirmed that animal control did have her tested (not the vet) & that they were supposed to fax her results to the vet, but for whatever reason, they didn't. Stupid animal control. They've asked animal control to go back through last year's files to find her test results, but who knows. I have very little faith in animal control at this point.

Today, Hilty will examine Linda, do some bloodwork, etc. to make sure she can withstand the treatment. If she can, she'll receive her first arsenic injection today, her second tomorrow & then we'll take her home on Sunday. Once we get her home, we have to really watch her for the first 30 days. Apparently, as the arsenic does it's job & the heartworms slow down & die, they can cause blockages in her heart & lungs if she gets excited or overexerted. So we're going to have to figure out a way to keep her from going up & down the stairs & we can only let her go outside on a leash, which she's going to hate. I'm honestly more worried about the next 30 days than I am about this weekend.

Thanks to everyone who's asked about her, emailed/texted, left Facebook comments, etc. It means a lot. This goes without saying, but she's a lot more than a dog to us.