What's up with my pup

This post is all about our pup, Boags. About a year ago Mark and I were enjoying Sunday Night Music in the Park. We had just cleaned up our picnic and were heading to the car. As chance would have it, walking out of the park we ran into the cutest little pup. We stopped to pet him and the girl with him told us he was for adoption and gave us a card. We thought about him for a long time that night. When I came home from work the next day, there he was, sitting (he was so scared he was actually shaking) on the couch! Mark gave me the biggest and best surprise ever!


He was so skinny when we adopted him!

We decided to name him Boags. In Australia, Mark's favorite beer is James Boags, so, there you have it, we named our dog after a brewski. We're thinking about naming our first born Dirty Martini, since those are my favorite. 

The lady we got him from operates a Jack Russell rescue out of her house. When Mark got him, he knew he had heart worms. He is a perfectly healthy pup, t-minus the worms in his little heart. The lady told Mark that she's treated a thousand dogs with heart worms through a "slow kill" process using medications. We've tried this for a year and have taken him to 2 different vets. Banfield, the PetsMart vet, told us 2 different things each time. Yesterday Mark took him to Cobb for a heart worm test to see if the medications are working. Sadly, they haven't killed off all the worms.

We had known all along that this would be a slow process, the medications. We've also know about a quick cure that's painful and keeps the dog crated for months (and is rather pricey). When talking to the lady we adopted him from, she made this option sound really scary. Basically, what they do is insert a needle 1 1/2 inches into his back and pump him with medicine. The medicine is SUPER strong and works fast to kill the worms. Kinda like chemo for dogs. After he has the shot, he has to be crated with NO physical activity for a month. There are 3 rounds of shots and he would need to be crated for 2 of those months. The reason for crating him is so that his heart wont beat fast, causing the dead worms to break apart and move into his blood stream, which could kill him. Very scary.

So, we have to make a decision. Let him live for 3 more years with worms possibly destroying the lining of his heart, or, do the quick and painful way to get rid of them fast. Mark asked the vet what he would do, the vet told him that Boags is the perfect candidate for the shots. He's young and healthy and has a strong heartbeat. Mark really likes and trusts this vet.

We are leaning towards the shots. Its going to be so horrible taking him to the vet for those shots. It's going to be even more horrible making him stay in a crate for 2 straight months. Poor little dude. :(