Heartworm Prevention - A Requirement for Adoption

GRIN receives many applications for dog adoptions. The most common reason applicants are rejected is based on the lack of heartworm prevention. To be approved to adopt from GRIN, potential adopters must be able to demonstrate year round heartworm prevention (unless their vet recommends otherwise). This is a standard requirement across all reputable dog rescues. This policy is for the safety and health of your dog.   

Is heartworm prevention really a matter of life and death? YES IT IS!  The dog is a natural host for heartworms, which means that heartworms that live inside the dog mature into adults, mate and produce offspring. If untreated, their numbers can increase, and dogs have been known to harbor several hundred worms in their bodies. Heartworm disease causes lasting damage to the heart, lungs and arteries, and can be fatal. This can absolutely be treated when it is diagnosed in time, but it is a long and arduous process that is costly and painful for your dog.

The topic of year-round versus seasonal heartworm prevention has been debated for many years. Mosquito season is unpredictable; sometimes we can have many warmer days earlier in the late winter and early spring, and the heat can also extend long into the typically colder months. Of course the risk is higher in the spring, summer, and early fall, when mosquitoes are more active, but mosquitoes can also be found indoors long after cold weather makes outdoor living impossible. If a dog is bitten by an infected mosquito late in the season and then skips his heartworm preventative through the winter months, this means that heartworm larvae are being allowed to grow unimpaired into adult worms, which cannot be killed by your regular heartworm preventative when you resume in the spring. As an added bonus, most heartworm preventatives contain additional medications that help to control other intestinal parasites.  These parasites can be found in the soil outside year round, which means your dog’s heartworm preventative actually does double duty

Our personal journey: In November of 2022, my wife and I adopted Rosie from GRIN. She came into GRIN’s care in July of 2022. She was a puppy mill mama approximately 7 years old and heartworm positive. She started heartworm treatment which involved her first immiticide injection, antibiotics and STRICT CRATE REST for 30 days. A second and third immiticide injection was given on days 60 & 61. With each injection received, these dogs must spend the night at the veterinarian (1 night for the first treatment and 2 nights for the subsequent treatments). Strict crate rest was necessary for another 30 days. One month later, she was cleared to be spayed. The injections are deep. They are administered into the lumbar muscles at L3 & L5. Rosie developed trauma at the sight of injections that involved her having two masses removed (one the size of a walnut and one deeper under the muscle fascia the size of a golf ball). She had surgery in November to remove both of those and that resulted in drain tubes, more pain and more time of restricted activity. I am so happy to report that today, she is a happy, loving, sweet and active golden girl (picture included because she is adorable). Her road to recovery was long and required six months of pain, inactivity, hospital stays and surgery. The charges for her heartworm treatment totaled over $2,000 which did not include charges for her subsequent surgery.  ALL of this could have been prevented by giving her the once monthly heartworm prevention!

Store Events

Just a friendly reminder that GRIN is on hand at several pet store locations the second Saturday of each month from noon until 2pm, spreading the word about our organization. 

• Pet People Strongsville
• Hollywood Feed Rocky River

Stop on out and say hello!

Check the calendar for more location updates.

Golden Ghost Raffle

Five dollar raffle tickets are now on sale for a chance to win this Golden Ghost. Click HERE to purchase tickets. Winner will be announced via FB live at this year’s Howl-o-Ween Pawty on October 15th. Winner need not be present to win. 

A Home for Every Golden Retriever

A HOME FOR EVERY GOLDEN RETRIEVER

If you’re on a stroll in your neighborhood and encounter a gregarious Golden Retriever who wants to say hello, it’s possible your new friend is an alumnus of GRIN – Golden Retrievers in Need Rescue Service.  Founded in 1992 by a group of Golden enthusiasts, GRIN is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization on a mission to find good homes for the countless Goldens facing euthanasia and homelessness each year.  GRIN has found homes for over 4,500 dogs throughout Northeast/Central Ohio, Western Pennsylvania and right here in Gates Mills.  Two-time GRIN adopter and Gates Mills resident Ingrid Ruppe has had Goldens for over 30 years and considers the breed “pure sunshine.”  After working with GRIN to adopt Daisy and Stanley, Ingrid is fully committed to the breed, to rescue and says that any future dogs that become a part of her family will be rescue dogs.

Without a bricks-and-mortar presence, GRIN mobilizes its all-volunteer team to save the lives of Golden Retrievers. Here’s how the process works. Once GRIN becomes aware of a dog in need, a volunteer transporter picks up the dog and takes it to a vet partner for evaluation and treatment.  Increasingly, dogs come in with medical issues, GRIN spends on average over $1,200 per dog.  While the dog is receiving veterinary care, the foster team works to match it with a foster family.  Each dog spends several weeks in a foster home receiving the love and care that helps them overcome any medical or behavioral issues.  Dogs with behavioral issues work with professional behaviorists and trainers to ensure they reach their full potential and adoptability. The foster family is an essential part of the adoption process, helping GRIN understand the needs of the dog and what type of adoptive home will be the best fit.  Using this knowledge, the adoption team matches the dog with a suitable adopter and conducts a meet-and-greet with the potential adoptive family and the dog.  If all goes well, this lucky Golden Retriever moves into its “furever” home.  Amora, who was an unclaimed stray at a shelter in Lorain County is just one example of a lucky dog that experienced this process.  This golden girl came to GRIN extremely thin and with skin issues and is now the sweetest and goofiest gal who loves napping in the sun and chasing squirrels.

The demand for GRIN’s services has exploded, with the number of dogs placed increasing 112% between 2021 and 2022. In 2022, GRIN rescued 473 dogs with over $321,000 spent in vet bills. The reasons for this exponential growth are the pandemic and puppy mills, according to Lisa Kime, president of GRIN’s board of trustees. Lisa tells us, “Looking for home companionship during the pandemic, many families added a puppy and the demand for these dogs was largely met by puppy mills, which are all too prevalent in Ohio.  With the return to in-person work in 2022, many dogs became a lower priority for some families and shelters were flooded with abandoned dogs.  Additionally, as demand plummeted, puppy mills started to divest of breeding dogs and unsellable puppies.  GRIN stepped in to rescue the impacted Golden Retrievers.  With the sluggish economy and inflationary pressures in 2023, owner relinquishments continue to surge, and GRIN is on track for another record-setting year of intakes.”  Casey is one of many breeding dogs who came to GRIN.  At age five and after a lifetime of breeding in an Ohio puppy mill, she was relinquished to GRIN and was initially extremely shut down.  In her adopted home, Casey has blossomed into a confident, trusting, and happy dog alongside her Golden brother, Willow.

The inflow of Golden Retrievers that need homes has no end in sight.  Goldens like Lisa Kime’s Starr, who was relinquished by her previous owner when experiencing financial difficulties.  GRIN remains committed to these dogs. Every Golden Retriever that comes into GRIN’s care needs a foster home and that is the most pressing issue that GRIN faces – the need to expand its pool of foster homes and adopters so that every abandoned dog has the chance to live the life it was born to live.

Written by GRIN volunteer:  Lisa Corwin

This article was published in the May 2023 issue of Stroll Magazine. Link to the Stroll webpage:  https://www.strollmag.com/locations/gates-mills-oh/.