Ted Needs A Special Foster Home!

Ted has heartworm and needs a special foster home in Illinois, is that you?

He is a a medium size beagle mix. The shelter says he is so sweet, crawl in your lap and never want to leave sweet. Ted’s foster in Alabama says...

This is Ted. He somehow found himself at the Humane Society. He weighs about 30-35 lb and is approx. 12 month old. Unfortunately, he is heartworm positive. He will be neutered on January 8th.

Ted is a very sweet dog and insists on laying next to me on the couch or at my feet. He is so calm for such a young dog. He gets along well with my dogs. Loves to chase the cats, but does nothing when he catches up with them. Though it is not his favorite place, he goes into his crate easily. Walks well on leash most of the time. He can be strong willed and determined to go his own way, much like all Beagles, especially when others dogs bark. He will occasionally dig under the fence, so he needs to be supervised when outside. He does not have any food aggression.

He is learning to play, but has no idea what to do with toys. I believe his favorite thing is riding in the car. Very well behaved. There’s been no contact with children, but considering his patience and love of attention, he will probably be good with children.

Did I mention how smart he is? He does watch, sit, down, and stay, and usually has to be told, “no”, only once. I hope Ted finds his furever home with someone looking for a loving, attentive, faithful companion because that is a description of Ted.

Safe haven Dog Rescue is committed to helping all dogs. For every healthy group of dogs we rescue, we also make sure to save dogs and puppies that need medical attention. These are the dogs that are chosen to euthanized first at the shelters simply due to the cost of medical care alone.

Heartworm Disease or HW+ (Heartworm Positive) dogs are one area that Safe Haven Dog Rescue encounters regularly. Heartworm treatment generally costs over $1000 to treat, however SHDR has a phenomenal veterinary partner that allows us to treat these dogs at a reduced cost. These dogs are typically owner surrendered or found as strays once their owners learn they have Heartworm. It’s not surprising, but because the treatment for heartworms is expensive and time-consuming, this usually means a death sentence for the shelter dog.

Sometimes we are unaware of their heartworm status before we commit to finding them a home. No matter, once we rescue a dog we are committed to providing treatment and getting it healthy so that it can be adopted into a forever home. We have several HW+ dogs that are due to come to Illinois in the next 2 weeks, but order to save them we need foster homes that are willing to take on one of these dogs for at least 10 weeks.

During the first 30 days, the dog is placed on a daily antibiotic (doxycycline). While on this medication, there are no restrictions on the dog’s activity.

After completing the antibiotic, the dog will need to have 2 injections in their lower back 24 hours apart. You will bring the dog to our vet for the first injection and then bring the dog back the next day at the same time for the second injection. After the first injection and for the following four weeks, the dog must be kept quiet, stress free, and crated to prevent a large mass of dead worms breaking free from the heart at once and blocking a blood vessel and causing an embolism.

Heartworm treatment is challenging for our dogs and their foster family and it takes a special dedication to take this on. The dogs that are scheduled to come to Illinois are young and otherwise healthy, but without this treatment they will not survive. Shelters may automatically euthanize dogs that are heart worm positive, but we would like to save as many of these wonderful animals as we can.

If you are willing to open you home and foster a Heartworm Positive Dog, please email safehavendogs@yahoo.com.

We provide all vetting, food, crate, toys, leash, collar, and you provide love and a calm place for a sweet dog to heal.