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Heartworm Disease

So far in 2019, we have treated 7 dogs (Hershey, Rio, Sterling, Reese, Lola, Finnley) at an average of $1500 per dog.

Please consider making a one time or monthly donation to allow us to continue providing this life-saving treatment.


  • Finnley

    Finnley is experiencing Heartworm Heartache that is terrible and painful. She is finally on the last shots for her treatment, but all this means is 30 more days of cage rest, discomfort and 30 more days without a forever family.

    Finnley didn’t ask for her owner to not give her heart worm preventative or ask to be turned over to rescue, but that is where she has ended up. This spunky girl has made the best of everything with her positive, strong personality. She is patiently waiting to be done with all these shots and cage rest so that she can find that perfect family that will love her forever.

    Finnley is #7 of our heart worm dogs this year, with each costing us around $1,500.00. This doesn’t even include the cost for spaying and regular vetting. Any amount you can give is worth it for dogs like Finnley ❤️. We hope that you feel the same and will support us with donations, our shirt fundraiser (that can be found at https://dudobes.org/shop/) or our events so we may continue to bring in dogs like Finnley. Thank you 🐾

    Finnley Heart-Worm Treatment

    $0 of $1,500 raised

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    In order to make an offline donation we ask that you please follow these instructions:

    1. Make a check payable to "Doberman Underground"
    2. On the memo line of the check, please indicate that the donation is for "Doberman Underground"
    3. Please mail your check to:

    Doberman Underground
    114 Barrington Town Square Dr.
    Suite 345
    Aurora, OH 44202
    (330)382-6496
    info@dudobes.org
    www.dudobes.org

    All contributions will be gratefully acknowledged and are tax deductible.

    Donation Total: $25.00


What is heartworm disease? Heartworm disease is a serious and potentially fatal disease in pets in the United States and many other parts of the world. It is caused by foot-long worms (heartworms) that live in the heart, lungs and associated blood vessels of affected pets, causing severe lung disease, heart failure and damage to other organs in the body. Heartworm disease affects dogs, cats, and ferrets, but heartworms also live in other mammal species, including wolves, coyotes, foxes, sea lions and—in rare instances—humans. Because wild species such as foxes and coyotes live in proximity to many urban areas, they are considered important carriers of the disease.

Heartworm prevention, Before your dog can be started on heartworm prevention you need to have your veterinarian perform a heartworm test. At this time you will discuss the various brands of prevention. Most veterinarians carry heartworm prevention, or they can write you a prescription to have filled elsewhere.

Heartworm Treatment. It’s important to remember that treatment for HW is very painful for the dog.  The shot itself hurts and in the days and weeks after, the pain can be immense depending on the stage of HW.  

It is also very expensive and time consuming for the rescue.  These dogs occupy an average of 90-120 days in a foster home.  Average cost of treating a stage 1-2 heartworm positive dog is $1200-3000 depending on the area you live in and if complications are encountered.  A stage 3 heartworm positive dog takes several months and more money due to potential complications.

Once diagnosed & verified

•Immediate exercise restrictions & the more pronounced the symptoms, the stricter the exercise restrictions.
•Given prednisone if symptomatic & to reduce risk of anaphylaxis.
•Administer heartworm preventative 30 days prior to 1st heartworm.  It is imperative to kill the juvenile worms. There is a window of time that the HW is immune to the preventative and the melarsomine injection.  That is why the treatment is spread out over so many months.
•Administer Doxycycline for 4 weeks prior to 1st heartworm injection.  This kills a bacteria that lives on the adult worm and makes it sterile.  It also makes the adult worm more susceptible to the treatment.

30 Days Later
•1st melarsomine injection (for hw). The initial injection kills ~50% of the load.
•Given pain meds.
•Given prednisone for 30 days to further decrease inflammation in the lungs secondary to the worms dying.
•Given heartworm preventative.
•Further decrease in activity level (cage restriction/on a leash for potty breaks/no walks/no running/no playing).  This is the period of time that a dog is at the highest risk for complications such as developing a clot in the lung from the worms dying. 

Another 30 days later
•On day 31 and 32 there are back to back injections. This set of injections along with the first injection will kill up to a total of 98% of the HW load. 
•2nd and 3rd melarsomine injection (for hw).
•Given pain meds.
•Given prednisone for 30 days.
•Given heartworm preventative.  It is imperative, since only 98% of the total HW load is killed, to maintain preventative for the life of the dog. 
•Maintain decreases in activity level.

6 Months After 3rd Injection
•Draw blood & test for Antigens.
•Maintain monthly & year-round HW prevention.

Costs 
•Blood tests= $150-300.  The dog has to have normal kidney and liver function to receive the treatment. Dobermans are also at an increased risk of bleeding if the thyroid level is abnormal.  This can add an additional 6-8 weeks for treatment. 
•Vet visits-average $55 per visit.
•HW preventative-runs around $12 per month.  Basic heartgard is used in this situation unless contraindicated.
•Prednisone-varies according to area-average is ~$50.
•3 melarsomine injections = aprox. total is $500-800.

For more information visit the American Heartworm Society

The information provided on this website is not a substitute for professional veterinary help. If your dog has a medical issue please take them to the vet as soon as possible.

Your generosity allows us to continue to treat dogs with this condition. If you would like to make a one time or monthly donation please click the donate button below.

It’s easy and secure. Use your PayPal account or your debit/credit card.


Rio, Sterling, Hershey and Reese

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We are a 501 (c)3 organization and fully depend on public donations and our adoption fees for support.
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It is #FosterFateFriday, only this time our foster dog is the one that picked her home 🙂. For dogs like Winnie, it is not easy to trust. However, once she learned to trust, it was clear she was where she was meant to be ❤️.

Many would look at Winnie and think she is nothing special 😕. Many would wonder why a purebred rescue travelled hundreds of miles to pick get a mutt off the streets? This dog isn't a Doberman, she isn't a purebred, she's like the many others trying to survive. Our answer? She needed us and that is our first priority 🐾.

Winnie survived on the streets, for what we suspect, was most of her life. When the shelter trapped her, they found out Winnie was heart worm positive and pregnant. She was scheduled to be euthanized 😢. We were contacted about Winnie and knew we would have over 5 months of caring for Winnie as she went through her heart worm treatment. During that time, we knew she would not be able to be adopted, but we jumped into action and went to get her 🚗.

Once Winnie's puppies were adopted, she then began heart worm treatments, but more importantly, she started to learn about being a pet 🐶.

At first Winnie stayed to herself, she was never difficult, but just aloof. Then she started to follow the other dogs of the home around and just hang out with them. Winnie was finding her place in the pack.

Then a month ago, Winnie decided at bedtime she was going to join the rest of them in the bedroom and she took over a chair. She was closer then she had ever been before to true comfort and family, but she still kept her distance. Then it happened 😳! Winnie jumped into bed with all the other dogs and found a spot to curl up next to her foster mom ❤️. The sound of contentment that came out of her little body broke her foster mom's heart.

To hear that sound from a dog that has never known love and security from humans, and for her to let her guard down to trust, made her foster mom decide that Winnie was home and would never feel abandonment again 🥰.

Sleep well tonight Winnie, as you are wrapped in the warmth of love from all of us who have been apart of your journey 🏡.
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Doberman Underground Supply Drive for our Columbus supporters:

Pet Supply Plus In Upper Arlington. picked us to be the recipient of their holiday supply drive!🥰💜 If you’re in the area, pop in this great 🏬 store! Psst ...they have the best staff!!
Buy for your own dogs or purchase items for us. We welcome gifts of food, treats, or toys.
Doberman Underground owes a huge shout out to Pet Supply Plus for being a consistent big supporter and ally in the rescue 🌎 world!!
Pet Supply Plus
1380 Home Avenue
Upper Arlington, OH
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Photos from Doberman Underground's post
PetPeople
Doberman Underground Supply Drive

PetPeople In University Hts. picked us to be the recipient of their holiday supply drive!🥰💜 If you’re in the area, pop in this great 🏬 store! Psst ...they have the best staff!! The supply drive ends Sunday, but PetPeople welcomes you anytime!

Buy for your own dogs or purchase items for us. We welcome gifts of food, treats, or toys.

Doberman Underground owes a huge shout out to PetPeople for being a consistent big supporter and ally in the rescue 🌎 world!!

PetPeople
13932 Cedar Rd.
University Hts., 44118
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For all lovers of sweets out there, you need to be careful with Sugar 🍭🍫, but you don't have to be careful with this Sugar. Sugar is a sweet 2 year old fawn girl. To learn more about Sugar go to https://t.co/1oLGQ4Xcru
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Looking forward to seeing you all this Thursday 6/14/18 at Zaftig Brewing Co. from 5:30pm-8pm! for our Pints and Pinschers event benefiing our rescue. Make sure to check out the podcast below! https://t.co/Cu0JMpoG0P
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Your shopping matters. This Father's Day, shop for Dad at https://t.co/k1akRUHxkT and Amazon donates to Doberman Underground. Happy Father's Day!
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About

Doberman Underground is a 501(c)(3) organization formed to rescue and rehome Dobermans and other dogs from abusive or neglectful situations as well as from shelters/pounds. We  service Ohio, Michigan, West Virginia, Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Indiana. We follow the Doberman Pinscher Club of America’s Code of Ethics. For more information visit the DPCA at http://www.dpca.org/ 

Contact Info

114 Barrington Town Square Dr., Suite 345 Aurora, OH 44202

(330)382-6496

info@dudobes.org

www.dudobes.org

Doberman Underground © 2018