Libby was a blue dobergirl about 6 years old.  She looked pretty good, especially  considering what she'd been through in her lifetime.  She came to DAR&E in August 2009 after someone noticed her in a small outdoor kennel located in Virigina in horribly unsanitary conditions.  For months she went with little or no food and dirty water that wasn't fit to drink.   No dog should have to live that way.  Poor Libby must have thought nobody cared what happened to her.  She couldn't have been further from the truth.  She was spotted by some very caring people who convinced the owner to hand the dog over to them.

with a case of heartworms and a few other conditions. The treatment for heartworms takes months and was really tough on her.  In order to kill the heartworms, the dog is treated with arsenic which not only poisins the heartworms but the dog as well.  However, through it all, she managed to maintain her sweet disposition.  Despite having very little human contact, she loved people and had started to realize that the world might not be such a bad place. Things were looking up for Libby, but she still had a few more weeks of recovery before she could begin to look for her forever home. Treating heartworms is always expensive and very hard on the dog; her vet bills were $840.

UPDATE:  February 2010   Libby found her furever home!

 

To learn more about heartworms, click here to go to the American Heartworm Society.