My dog Riley recently turned a year old so we thought this would be the perfect time to have his heartworm test done. I found out from a friend at work 2 Mondays ago that Petco has a Vet that comes in a few Monday nights a month to give shots & do blood draws. My friend just happened to have a price listing with her. A heartworm test at my Vet's office is around $50. This price list said $20! I was worried that they wouldn't be able to draw his blood because of how he is with nail cuts but they were great with him. It took 2 of us to hold him & the Vet half holding & half drawing the blood, but she got it. She said no news is good news and that the results would be in by Friday. Apparently they only call if it's positive. Now, that might sit well with most people, but not me! I realize heartworm is not something "normal" around here, but my dog is from Arkansas. Because of this we give preventatives all year round. I was also slightly nervous about the test. So when the following Monday came around, I called the Vet to see if the results were in. They were not!
The day after the blood draw we had a huge snow storm. Apparently the lab got very far behind & was swamped. So, I just received the test results today. NEGATIVE!! I had a message on my cell phone from the Vet that said "The test results are negative. There are no wormies in little Riley's heart." I was so happy when I heard this news! I just giggled at the "wormies" comment! When I got home from work tonight I gave Riley an extra big hug & tons of kisses.
I am so happy that we have provided monthly prevention for our dog. There is only one Riley & I never want to see him go through any unpleasantness. So, I make this promise to my dog...I will always provide you with everything you need to stay healthy. I am so thankful for the massive amounts of unconditional love Riley gives me. So tomorrow, since it is the first of the month, I will provide you with your monthly dose of prevention and in 2 years we will retest. A lot of people don't know that you have to retest every 2 years. Thankfully I have a wonderful Vet that guides me along the way, as I am a first time doggie parent.
