DALLAS—
A furry fundraiser Sunday afternoon called attention to the plight of a homeless animal family - two dogs and a goat - and the treatment needed to save the lives of the two dogs - both infected with heartworms.More than two thousand dollars were raised by generous animal lovers at Café Lago on Garland Road. They sipped wine and offered dog biscuits to Great Dane Judy and Lucky the three-legged Labrador. The goat, Minelli, got lettuce treats when she wasn't sneaking in a few bites of paper.
But all fun aside, the east Dallas veterinarian who's caring now for all three animals, reports she's seen an alarming increase in the number of dogs and cats stricken with heartworm. Dr. Karen Fling of the East Lake Veterinary Hospital said: "In our Dallas practice we've seen a tripling of cases since 2006 and so far in 2010 cases have already doubled over 2009."
Mosquitoes bite the dog or cat and that transmits the infection to the animal. Monthly medication will prevent the disease." As veterinarians we're very concerned about it. This is an alarming trend. It's not a question of if a dog or cat not on heartworm prevention will be infected, it's a question of when."
Animals with heartworms do suffer and often die. Symptoms include coughing, weight loss, exercise intolerance but sometimes, there are no warning signs and the animal drops dead suddenly from cardiac arrest.
Dr. Fling is hopeful Lucky and Judy will respond well to heartworm treatment. People have called in hoping to adopt the family of three at a later date. But the bigger message, said the animal doctor, is to remember - all dogs and cats must take monthly heartworm prevention.
