Ebony

Chelsea, Alabama
Female Age: 3 (DOB 2/25/2020) 21# Health: Undergoing treatment for heart worms Adoption donation: TBA
MEET EBONY 💜 We sprung beautiful 3 year old Ebony (DOB 2/25/2020) out of a shelter after she was discarded there by her breeder. This gorgeous black & tan girl arrived an absolute matted mess and required extensive and meticulous grooming in effort to preserve her beautiful coat ✂️ - mission accomplished! 21 pound Ebony is typical in size and at her ideal weight. She is quite the lover and kisses are her love language 😘 She will plant one on you any chance she gets! In fact, every time Dr. Martin would lean in while examining her ears and eyes, Ebony would attack 💋 She was vaccinated and spayed while at the shelter, but we did a thorough physical exam and sent off full labwork. We are still awaiting the results of her fecal test but sadly, we have learned that she is heartworm positive, which is absolutely infuriating. She also has a couple bloodwork abnormalities that we feel is likely due to the heartworms. Additionally, she has badly infected ears which she is currently receiving treatment for. Her eyes, knees, and hips are clear. Ebony has now started the first phase of heartworm treatment which is being on oral Doxycycline for 30 days. Once she completes that she will have a 30 day wait/rest period before she will undergo her first, of three, immiticide injections to kill the heartworms 💉 Heartworm treatment is a lengthy process and Ebony has a long road ahead of her to eradicate the deadly worms that have infested her heart due to being denied heartworm prevention by her bad breeder.Ebony is settling well into her foster home in Chelsea, Alabama and we will certainly keep you posted through her treatment 💕
UPDATE JUNE 27, 2023: Sweet and beautiful Ebony, who sadly tested positive for heartworms at her intake vetting, has now completed the first step of lengthy heartworm treatment. She has finished her 30 days of Doxycycline 💊 and is now on step 2 which is a 30 day “wait” period ⏰ before she goes in for her first (of 3) melarsomine injection 💉 to kill the adult heartworms, which is schedule for July 28th. Ebony is being fostered in Birmingham, Alabama and we will be sure to keep you posted through her treatment ❤️‍🩹
UPDATE AUGUST 12, 2023: Ebony in Chelsea, Alabama, is doing a great job following her prescription for rest 📝 💤 while undergoing her heartworm treatment. She will return for her second treatment injection (of 3) on August 31st 💉 We so look forward to heartworms being a thing of the past for this sweet girl 💕
UPDATE AUGUST 31, 2023: Beautiful Ebony rocked her heartworm treatment injection #2 today 💉 These are painful injections that go into her back muscles and kill the adult heartworms that are infesting and damaging her poor little heart 💔 Without treatment, the heartworms would kill her. Thankfully, she made her way to us in time 🙏🏻Tomorrow, she goes in for her 3rd and (hopefully) last injection. Then, she will be on another 30 days of rest before she will have a microfilaria test at the end of September which checks to be sure there are no immature/baby heartworms still growing. Ebony, being fostered in Chelsea, Alabama, has been a real trooper through this long treatment and we look forward to this being behind her 💕
UPDATE OCTOBER 3, 2023: Sweet Ebony in Chelsea, Alabama showing her battle scars after completing heartworm treatment where the drug Melarsomine was injected into her back muscles. Melarsomine contains arsenic which is the active ingredient that kills the adult heartworms. Her monthly ‘preventative’ of Advantage Multi is what is used to kill the immature heartworms, called microfilaria 🪱 It is imperative that treatment includes eradication at each life stage. Ebony just underwent a microfilaria test to ensure we have successfully killed all immature heartworms and we have as the test was negative ✔️ It takes quite some time before the adult heartworm are fully broken down and so she will not undergo an antigen test for adult heartworms until the end of December. Even then, it may still be positive in which case she was retest again in May. By the end of May she should be negative, else additional treatment may be needed. As you can see, heartworm treatment is very lengthy and certainly no fun for poor pups like Ebony who were denied affordable, effective, and safe prevention. In Ebony’s case she was making money for her breeder by producing puppies yet the breeder wasn’t even putting the smallest amount back into her care 😡 We will certainly celebrate when Ebony gets a negative antigen test result where we can close the book on heartworm treatment once and for all and she can finally get on with living her best life 💜