Duchess ~ Yellow Lab with heartworms
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h2...PINs/dutch.jpg IMOM is raising funds for Duchess
If you have experience with heartworm treatment or have any fund raising ideas, I'm sure Duchess' family would appreciate hearing about it. You can post ideas on her thread on IMOM's website.
Diagnosis: Heartworm
Estimated total needed: $589.58 Applicant can contribute $89.58. We need to raise $500 When making a donation, please consider a small contribution to our operating fund.
Volunteer caseworker: Amy
From Dutchess' family:
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Dutchess is a 6 year old yellow lab who for the first time in her life is experiencing the wonderful pleasures of having a family. We took her in about 1 week ago. Before she knew the love of our family, the first six years of her life consisted of being only a kennel dog with many other dogs. She had very little contact with humans most of her life because of the setup of of where she lived. Year round she spent her days outside in Northern MN. Our family took Dutchess in to our home, made an appointment with the local vet and took her in. There was no cost in obtaining her from the people who had her. At first, her appointment was going so well. The vet seemed really impressed by what a wonderful dog Dutchess was. I was beaming at the compliments given towards Dutchess. But, my heart dropped when several tests were run on Dutchess only to show that she had heartworm disease. Also, her ears needed treatment. Her face will forever be scarred by the numerous cuts caused by the conditions of her environment. There are scars on her body as well. Mosty her face took a beating from other dogs in her kennel. I can not even count all of the scars that are healing now or have already been healed over. We think barbed wire could have caused some of it. Her face is tattered and rugged like a well loved teddy bear. Our children ages 5,7 and 10 spend countless hours loving on her now. She follows me everywhere and ne! ver wants to leave my side for one moment. Her home now is loving, warm and peaceful. However, the shock of the cost involved in saving her from this disease has been overwhelming to us. We are a family of 5 expecting a baby in September. We expected regular vet costs but nothing like this! We have only one income. We have financial struggles that would not allow us right now to treat Dutchess for the Heartworm disease that she has. So, we are very grateful for the opportunity to even apply for this needed help. Our girls have started working on fundraising options for Dutchess. Our youngest, named Sarah, is 5. She has placed a wishing well for Dutchess at the end of our driveway and next to the mail box. Granted, it is only a plastic ice cream bucket. But, our little one sees it as a wishing well of hope. In her eyes, someone can make a wish and drop a coin in to help her dog. Meanwhile, we are planning a garage sale and either a stamping party or Tupperware party to help raise money on our end. I was told that Dutchess seemed to be in good health otherwise. She will need to be spayed when all of her treatment is over but we know that is obtainable for us given that we will have several months to gather the money as she is healing from the heartworm procedure. I am very impressed at her intelligence by the way. She is very mindful of everyone and everything around her. I have not found her to be aggressive in any way. She enjoys our fully fenced yard with a small strip of woods, all just under 3/4 of an acre. I have watched her chase squirrels in our yard for fun and follow the girls and I around as we work in the yard. She is so happy here. I was also very impressed that not one time has she had an accident in the house! The day we brought her home we were able to teach her how to sit and shake as well. We sure went through a lot of doggy treats that day! We sure love her with all of our hearts. She returns that love and is so trusting. It is so sad what she has known and we want to make her life a "Doggy Heaven" now that she is with us. We gave her a rawhide bone the other day and I have never seen a dog so appreciative! She savored it for hours and hours. I'm concerned about how long Dutchess will have if this goes untreated. I honestly do not know much about Heartworm disease or how fast it works. I plan to do some research online. I'm hoping and praying that it is not fast moving. We have told the girls the facts of all of this so that they understand the severity of it. We also hope that we can be teaching them responsibility and compassion for animals in all of this. This is a mission of love for our family. If our application is accepted, I'd like to call this pet page "Dutchess'online wishing well". Dutchess must have longed and wished to be loved by a family and we believe her wish came true because she is here. We prayed for the perfect dog and now she is here. We don't want to see her die. If you choose to help Dutchess we would be so grateful. If you drop a coin in, make a wish! Like Dutchess, your wishes just might come true!
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Dutchess is not yet spayed but will be as soon as her heartworm treatment is completed.
Donations should be designated to: EF – Dutchess Kvam
www.imom.org/donation/
