Life After Heartworm Treatment

It has been a while since we posted, wanting to see how Mila was doing before making any statements as to her health and wellness!

When Mila first came here, she did not have a lot of muscle tone, having been in a kennel for 7 months. In the time that she was kenneled, waiting to see if her human was going to be able to go home again, Mila lost a considerable amount of weight, which was great. But she didn't have any strength. So we slowly did yard walks, working up to a few loops and by that time, Mila was into it and was soon running around, happy with the activity she was able to do.

The almost 4 months of crate rest did a good job of reversing that progress! However, heartworm free is the way to be (Mila wants buttons made up with that on them, stat). So while we are now back to yard walks, she will be able to build her strength and endurance without giant worms living in her heart and lungs. We're no scientists, but we feel like that gives her a leg up, so to speak.

If you've ever had to have bed rest for any length of time, or known anyone who has, you know how tiring it is to resume normal activities, more so for a senior, even one with lots of moxie! So we've been working on that too.

Add all of this together, crate rest, "isolation" (no outings), and lack of physical activity and think about what you would be like with all of this...that's where Mila is at right now. For some dogs there is a bit of an adjustment back to normal life. Some hop right back in, and others (we like to think it's due to Mila's intelligence and sensitivity) do have a little period where they need to get the kinks out. They've been through difficult, painful treatment that often makes them feel quite ill, and it is not surprising it can take a little bit to get back to their normal.

Again, the treatment, while hard, is much better than dying from heartworm disease, which is a very difficult ending for pets. So no matter how you treat, please do treat (and when Immiticide comes back, we know that is the best way to treat for most cases, talk to your vet).

But Mila remains happy and upbeat and amazes those who meet her because she is a very spirited senior!

She got to go to the groomer, and despite having been groomed 3 other times and enjoying it immensely, Mila did get a little attitude. We couldn't get her to hold still for her nail trim so she got to wear a muzzle and that calmed her right down so she got to keep it on for the whole bath. 

I'm wearing a party hat!

I exploded!

As soon as I got my way, I was happy.

And pretty, and shiny!

Does anyone have any questions? Please let us know!