WARNING: HEARTGUARD PLUS

AFTER ASKING TWO VETS, THIS IS WHAT WE FOUND OUT: IT'S NOT THE MEDS THAT AREN'T WORKING ON ALL DOGS. THERE ARE SOME HEARTWORMS THAT ARE BECOMING RESISTANT TO HEARTWORM MEDICINES. MAKE SURE YOU DO A HEARTWORM CHECK ON YOUR DOG EVERY YEAR EVEN THOUGH YOU ARE GIVING MONTHLY HEARTWORM PILLS. WHAT HEARTWORM PILL DO YOU GIVE YOUR DOG?

http://epaper.arkansasonline.com/Repository/getFiles.asp?Style=OliveXLib:ArticleToMail&Type=text/html&Path=ArDemocrat/2011/06/21&ID=Ar02303&Locale

This is a very alarming article relating to the effectiveness of Heartguard Plus, a HW preventative medicine that is CAUSING heart worm, especially in highly infested mosquito areas.
Of even greater concern to me is that the article discusses that a senior medical professional was FIRED after trying to get Merial, the manufacturer, to alert vets that Heartguard Plus's medical claim re its supposed "100% efficacy" was no longer valid.

SASSY AND THE NEW RESCUE VAN

This is my car-- for carrying grandkids and Pekingese. It has made many trips to rescue a Peke from a shelter or home. It's a Honda Odyssey mini van. We asked for a car for Jeanne-- we wondered if anyone had an "extra." We knew the chances were slim, but it never hurts to pray!

She had a sign to put on it when it arrived. I have one of those, too.

And it arrived!!! Look at this car/van! Susan Lee wanted to donate this van to us (a van!! with plenty of space for Pekes!!) so that Jeanne could continue the Richmond part of our rescue. We were stunned and pleased and happy and thankful-- thank you Susan! We are so grateful for our Peke friends who want to help us. Now Jeanne and I have almost matching vans!!

Jeanne had a license plate to transfer to the van and she was all set. She was able to get Sassy as her first Peke rescue in the van. And here's Sassy's story:

We were asked to take Sassy (Madelion) in from a Washington DC shelter. I did a blog on her last week. She had a tilt in her neck/head and was walking in circles, they said. They didn't know what was wrong.

So, she came to Jeanne's house-- thanks to the new rescue van!

Here she is with Carter, Jeanne's Peke (one of the Bristol 18 puppies). Sassy had a lot of tests by Dr. Rich Teague of Farmer's Vet. Here's what he said: "Sassy was sedated today and radiographs of the cervical spine were taken. They showed a narrowing of the disk space at C2-3, and a complete ablation of the disk space at C4-5. The narrowing is caused when the intervertebral disk herniates upward into the spinal canal, pushing on the spinal cord. It is this pressure that causes the neck pain, twitching, and even loss of function seen with slipped or herniated disks. In Sassy's case, I cannot tell you if one or both areas are causing her pain, although the C4-5 lesion looks older to me, as there appears to be some fusion between the vertebral bodies.The outcome of these lesions is difficult to predict, but odds are in her favor that conservative treatment will be all that is necessary. We will continue her confinement and pain management for at least two weeks. She should probably never wear a collar, but instead a harness that will keep pressure off her neck.Other problems that will need to be addressed in the future: Stenotic nares and soft palate repair.Needs a dental prophylaxis.Vaccines?R PS we did do the heartworm test, which was negative for heartworms, Erhlichia, and Lyme disease."

She was put on medications for pain, and rest in the playpen. She is already doing SO much better. She is walking straight, her head is not at an angle anymore. She acts like she feels so much better.

She will have rest for at least two weeks (she's out of the playpen for the pictures) and then we'll see about her dental and stenotic nares surgery. She is one sweet Peke and we are so glad we could help her. If you are interested in her, she's not ready yet, but you can always put in an application. Just email us at potomacpekes@gmail.com.

BECKY

This adorable 2 year old was turned in to our rescue after someone found her near a very busy N.Va. road. She tried to find her owners-- and she did. But, the husband had turned her out to fend for herself because he said, "I hate that dog." The wife was behind him, so upset and crying. There were obvious problems here, but we could help Becky.

Becky is young and playful and loving. She is only about 12-13 pounds and just wants to be taken care of.

We received an application for her so we hope she will be going to her forever home soon! We want GREAT homes for each one of our foster dogs so they can be loved and cared for the rest of their lives-- they deserve that.

Becky has a whole life in front of her. She is so young, she'll overcome anything she went through. All her medical is done and she is ready to go!

Are you excited Becky? :-)

LOUIE AND KATIE

This little precious girl was Princess. She was born in 1995 and live a long, wonderful life until 2011. Rest in peace, sweet Princess. She wouldn't want her family to be sad though-- she would want them to have another Pekingese to love. They loved her so much that they decided that love could be carried on by adopting Louie and Katie. Here is their story.

Katie and Louie were adopted together this week-end. They were so attached and love to play together, and we are SO glad they get to stay together. I think Louie is playing "king of the mountain."

Or maybe he's king of the couch.

Yep, that's what he is. Look at that cute face!

Now, he's ready to get into something. I know this is a busy dog! He is always looking for something or someone to play with.

Still looking.... find anything yet, Louie?

Whoa! He must have-- he's going to fly there!

It's up in the air.

And Katie just hangs out patiently.

What is your buddy getting into, Katie?

She doesn't really care-- no concern on that face! No encouragement, no warnings, just hanging out passively.

Maybe he's behaving for awhile. He is such a puppy and full of energy.

And then, he's looking again.

Oh, this is too tempting.

Let's see if he can catch it. He's making a good try.

And it's a little lower--you can do it, Louie.

Louie and Katie are such sources of joy and entertainment. Their new owners are laughing at lot at them and we are so glad! Pekes can bring so much into our lives.

Here are videos from when they are in foster care. Yes, these two will keep their new owners smiling. :-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksvy0lVD1w8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZqC_8Y_cuc

JASPER AND HEARTWORMS

Starlight wanted to know where Jasper was all day.

Jasper had his first heartworm treatment today. He had to stay at the vet all day. I told them he may not appreciate being in a kennel there where they could watch him.

He hates being confined and will get very upset. He's never confined here. He was so glad to be home. And the rest of the Pekes here were sniffing him and making sure he was fine. All five Pekes gathered about this little boy to say, "I'm glad you're back!" Even Cranberry was there! WOW.

They all gathered together and Jasper watched. I know heartworm treatment is rough and he has to go back for a second/third treatment in a month. It's a two day series the next time. Today was just one shot.

He was checking things out to make sure nothing changed while he was gone. He has settled in so well at my house. He is housetrained (yippee!) and wags his tail when I come home.

But, last night he was more sedate.

He just wanted to rest. I had to hand feed him his dinner.

I let him rest in his spot under the desk. He needs to rest for a month so the heartworm treatment can slow rid his body of those awful things. We'll get him well. I know everyone is cheering him on.

Click here: Heartworms in Dogs - What You Don't Know That Can Hurt Your Pooch - Paw Nation

CAMP RUNAMUCK TO THE DOGS

Jasper goes in this morning for heartworm treatment. He will be at the vet all day and I'll pick him up this evening. I will find out more about the treatment to share with you.

He had a fun week-end though. My daughter's Pekes (and Lab-Shepherd) were here and Jasper fell in love with Lottie. Please ignore her hair-- I cut it and it was still wet and she rolled in the dirt (and had to have another bath!).

Wicket also joined in the group. They were wandering down part of the Pekingese pathway.

It was like a little threesome. Lottie must have thought Jasper was her child because she played with him so sweetly-- she doesn't usually play, but she thought Jasper was wonderful.

I actually had to put Lottie upstairs so Jasper wouldn't play too hard. I didn't want him to stress his heart -- I don't think that would be good for him since he's heartworm positive.

The rest of the dogs didn't even come outside, just Wicket, Lottie and Jasper.

Jasper is such a sweet dog-- getting along with all the dogs. He greeets me in the morning with a wagging tail and jumping to be loved on.

I took a short video of them playing, just to show you his sweet personality. Click here: YouTube - jasper1

Pray for Jasper today as he undergoes his first heartworm treatment!

TOBY, THE LOST PEKE

We received a request to take in a Peke someone found. He was in Maryland, and we know we have to go by the rules in each area. We wanted to give the owners time to claim him, also.

This boy had no tags on or a microchip. I believe in a dog wearing tags all the time. Sometimes, a dog can slip out no matter how careful we are. If there is no i.d. on it, it means the owner may not find their dog again.

This little one was so cute and looked well cared for-- if he had a microchip, that would have given a way to locate his owner. Some dogs we've gotten have had microchip-- BUT, if they are not registered, it does no good.

This little guy had a break. The people who found him took him for a walk a few days after they found him. Two boys on their bikes saw him and said, "There's Toby!" The lady walking him went to the house and Toby jumped into his owner's arms. A happy reunion! But, please keep tags and microchips on all your dogs-- just to be safe.