Good News: We’re Positive He’s Negative!

Adopter Update on Chas, my TDL dog by Amy Benz

Monday, June 20, 2011: Today was annual check-up day for my dogs, Chas and Shelby. As you may remember, Chas (formerly Billy Joel) is the border collie mix I adopted from TDL last summer. He’s the one that got me started working in rescue. When I adopted Chas he was heartworm positive; in fact, I related my experience and choice of treatment in an article Gisele wrote several months ago. I’ve republished an excerpt from that article at the bottom of this page.

Anyway, back to annual check-up day, which included the usual litany of vaccinations as well as the dreaded fecal and heartworms tests. Cue the scary music. I knew my choice  to use the slow-kill method (an initial cycle of doxycycline/prednisone followed by monthly Heartgard heartworm preventative) could take 1-2 years to produce a negative test result. Therefore I fully expected to hear that Chas’s heartworm test was positive. After all, he’d only been on the slow-kill treatment since last summer, less than one full year.

I didn’t really think much about it during the examination and hadn’t mentioned it to the Dr. Bailey, but was certainly glad to hear her pronouncement that Chas’s heart and lungs sounded great as she performed her initial exam. We chatted about this and that while she finished up, then Dr. Bailey and her vet tech left the exam room to retrieve the results of the fecal and heartworm tests for both dogs.

A few minutes later Dr. Bailey returned.

“Good news,” she said. “Both tests came back negative. You’re all set to go.”

“Both tests for both dogs came back negative?” I clarified. “Both fecal and heartworm tests for both? You’re certain?”

“Yep, see for yourself,” she answered.

I looked at the snap tests, one with Shelby’s name and the other with Chas’s name. Sure enough, they both showed negative! Unbelieveable! I was grinning from ear to ear as I reminded Dr. Bailey that Chas had been heartworm positive this time last year.

“Let’s do the test one more time, just to be sure,” she said. “I’m pretty skeptical about a negative result in such a short period of time.” However, 10 minutes later we got the same result — negative! — from a second test, leaving little room for doubt.

Now I’m not saying the slow-kill method is the right course of action for every dog in every situation, but I do think it’s a valid option, worthy of consideration. I chose the slow-kill method for Chas because: 1. He was asymptomatic (no coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, lethargy, etc.). 2. He was a young, otherwise healthy, and active dog that I knew would be difficult to keep contained and quiet for the amount of time required by the fast-kill or Immiticide treatment. I believe you should be able to discuss all the options with your veterinarian and agree upon a reasonable treatment plan that everyone — most especially your dog! — can live with.

~ Amy

In case you’re interested, here’s my original post about Chas and my experience as the owner of a heartworm positive dog:

“Before I adopted border-collie mix Chas (formerly Billy Joel), my only experience with heartworm positive dogs was secondhand. My brother and his wife had rescued an American Bulldog that was heartworm positive; their vet recommended the fast-kill treatment via Immiticide. My aunt rescued a heartworm-positive American Eskimo Dog; her vet also recommended the fast-kill method. Following treatment with Immiticide, both dogs nearly died and had to be rushed to the emergency veterinary clinics in their respective areas. Despite following all the necessary precautions/instructions, my brother and my aunt nearly lost their dogs because they had a difficult time keeping them completely and totally quiet 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Both dogs were young and very active at the time of their Immiticide treatment.

This was my mindset going into adopting Chas, who at two years of age had been diagnosed as “light heartworm positive.” I had never heard of the slow-kill method, which employs a combination of treatment with doxycycline/prednisone and monthly dosages of Heartgard heartworm preventative over a long period of time. Gisele and Holly explained my options and recommended several sources of credible information so that I could educate myself. Because Chas was young, fit, active, and – most importantly – asymptomatic (no coughing, shortness of breath, or lethargy), I decided the slow-kill method would be the way to go. I simply couldn’t fathom keeping him confined and quiet for such a long period of time if another option was available.

Feeling I’d made an informed decision with Chas’s best interest in mind, I took him to my regular vet for a check-up as soon as I got him home. Imagine my surprise when my vet berated me for my thinking, implying that I was not only ignorant but irresponsible for even considering the slow-kill method. She went as far as telling me that I was putting my entire neighborhood’s dog population at risk by maintaining a heartworm positive dog. “What if your neighbor’s dog isn’t on preventative?” she asked. “You could be responsible for infecting that dog!” I left the office in tears and immediately called Holly, who informed me that unfortunately many vets feel this way about the slow-kill method. Her advice was to research as much as possible, read testimonials about dogs successfully treated with the method, and ultimately make my own decision. I chose to stick with the slow-kill method. So far, so good – my Chas is a healthy, happy, active dog and continues to remain asymptomatic. I’m hoping for good news this spring at his annual check-up.”