It is up to the receiving rescue to request HW testing - most of the locals that are pulling from these rural dog pounds are just individuals trying to do all they can to save dogs in their areas. They generally have the receiving rescue pay for any vet work done prior to transport. For example, we will send the money to the local group for all vetting, health certificate and any boarding fees accrued by them before the dogs get here. In addition, we also send money to help fund their transport costs - they rent a cargo van and divide the cost of the van and gas amongst the groups getting dogs. This group tests for heartworm as part of their overall package, but not all groups do. Their concern is (and rightly so) is that they pull a dog for a rescue group and if they test HW+, the rescue will back out at the last minute - then the local group has a dog that is HW+ with no rescue commitment and no funds to treat.

Our group is adamant about commitment - once we commit to a dog, we are 100% committed no matter what the outcome and I get frustrated with rescues that don't. There are never any guarantees with rescue and as much as we try to make sure that the dogs we bring up are 100% healthy, we have in the past gotten a parvo pup (treated successfully), a HW+ dog (will be treated soon), and other assorted health issues (all treated successfully). We do what we have to do to make sure the animals are healthy. If we miss something, we work with the adopter on treatment and generally reimburse them for the vetting they had to do. It happened a few weeks ago when one of our fosters developed kennel cough. They were only in foster care for about a week, so it didn't present until they were adopted - we reimbursed the family for the medication the pup needed. The pup was probably exposed during the transport and just like a cold, you don't know you have it until you have it.

That being said, any reputable rescue is going to have a heartworm test done before they adopt out the dog - regardless of whether it was done by the sending group or the receiving group. To not do so is irresponsible in my opinion.

Angie brings up an excellent point about transports and the need to maintain excellent sanitation protocols. I have a spray bottle with bleach solution that I use on crates whenever I use the crates to transport dogs or cats. I spray it down completely and let it air dry. My personal animals are all up to date with vaccinations and I worm and flea treat my own animals regularly because I transport and foster animals with unknown histories. If any pup has an accident in my house, I clean it with bleach solution immediately. The foster pups are not allowed free reign of the back yard, rather I have a kennel area that they have access to for potty breaks or I walk them on a leash. Then I can immediately clean and bleach any areas they potty in.

This is probably a great deal more information than you wanted, but I love giving information in the hopes that more people will want to get more involved.

Clara