Raisin, left, and her best friend Bailey (aka Mrs. Beans aka Beans for Brains), right.
Raisin, 3, is my first dog. I rescued her from the Lucky Dog Animal Rescue, an all volunteer organization that rescues animals out of South Carolina and Puerto Rico, in September 2014.
I had just recently graduated from college, living at home, and working a part-time job that paid hardly enough for me to take care of my self. Needless to say, I was not ready to enter dog ownership and the financial responsibilities that came along with it
Heartworm is scary
Having always dreamed of owning my own dog I would often make myself suffer by looking at dogs up for adoption on rescue websites. I was always able to talk myself out of getting a dog, and to wait until I was more financial stable and living on my own. That was all fine and dandy, until I saw Raisin.
This picture was love at first sight. Seeing her overgrown matted face broke my heart and I knew she was meant to be mine. When I contacted the rescue caring for her I learned that Raisin had been turned down by three other families already and they where loosing hope that anyone was going to want her with her condition.
Raisin is heartworm positive. It is a horrible disease that can be treated, and in most cases treatment is successful but guaranteed. She was treated with a two shot treatment (usually a three shot treatment, but it is too expensive for the rescue) when she was found in the streets of South Carolina.
The treatment for heartworm is risky for animals and extremely hard on their system. Basically, the treatment breaks down the worms in the animal's heart and the dead worms leave the body through the blood stream. This means that the animal has to be on exercise restriction for up to two months during treatment. If the animal's heart pumps blood too quickly it will create blood clots from the dead worms leaving their system and will kill them (one of many possible complications). Learn more about this disease and treatment at https://www.heartwormsociety.org.
Treatment along with a monthly preventative has proven many success stories for a lot of heartworm positive animals, but it is also an expensive and scary process that is not guaranteed to work. This is why Raisin had been turned down by all those families, and why many heartworm positive animals never get rescued. Heartworm is only a death sentence when gone untreated, and not all animal rescues have the funds or the resources to treat these animals.
Being a broke college grad I put all of my money into rescuing Raisin and getting her treatment, and I regret nothing. Six months after her first treatment the vet told me that she was still infected with adult worms and would need to go through treatment again. This is a dog that loves long walks, playing with toys, and jumping up and down with excitement when someone says, "cucumbers" (cucumbers are her favorite food).
The idea of putting her though another treatment is hard for me to imagine. She has come a long way from the scared to death bone thin dog I held that first day, and I worry what a second treatment with another round of exercise restriction will do to her.
The first time I held her.
When I first got Raisin she was terrified of everything, so thin, and sleepy from the long ride up from South Carolina. She was still on exercise restriction from her first treatment and boy was it hard to keep her still. When I brought her home she wanted to explore everything, keeping a close on where I was at all times incase of scary noises.
In the months to come we grew together and in a way rescued each other. I needed her and she needed me. With lots of long walks, cucumber, and learning that it is not ok to poop in the living room or on the porch or at the foot of my bed or in the dinning room; especially during dinner.
Owning a dog is a huge responsibility, much like adopting a child, and is a commitment and a promise to care and love for this animal for their entire life. The rescue wasn't able to tell me much about Raisins past. They had found her on her own and it was clear that she had been on her own for a long time and was very afraid of cars, loud noises and men.
One of the greatest transformations she had in the past nine months is her going from being absolutely terrified of my father to completely smitten. This was a turning point for her, and in the time since she warmed up to my father she has gained a lot of confidence and lost a lot of fear.
Snaggle Toothed Ewok
Its amazing how love can transform a dog, and it is hard to believe that nobody wanted this amazing pooch. She went from 10.5lbs to her current 16.0lbs. She is no longer afraid of everything and has a great confidence bringing joy to all she comes in contact with.
Everything in my life lead me to Raisin, and what ever horrors she experience in her unknown past are nothing but a distant memory. Now all she has to worry about is if we run out of cucumber she has to eat orange cucumber (carrots) until mommy goes to the grocery store.
I hope that sharing my story will inspire people to not turn away an animal that needs a forever home because they are heartworm positive. Giving an animal a happy life, however long that life may be, is the greatest joy and privilege of a life time.
Raisin is still battling her heartworm and you can follow her progress and cuteness on her Facebook page www.facebook.com/raisincolburn
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