Every one thinks I am mean and judge mental when it comes to (small town was mentioned in Missouri but I choose to delete this name to not offend anyone) . I am somewhat familiar with the area so sometimes I know how conditions down there can not always be good for the animals. Most people in this area have a hard time making ends meet . They can barely afford to take care of themselves , much less their animals ! Case in point, this poor baby is in horrendous condition . Possible liver failure or maybe advanced heart worms. This person has no car or money to get this dog to the vet It needs to go to ( another small town in the area) and I will pay for the exam . What a terrible travesty we place on mans best Freind . What gives us the right to say we love our animals and then treat them to a certain death because of our financial situation . Are you to tell me a dog would rather be living in less than ideal conditions for the chance of human contact and to suffer a horrible death just so some human can say "I really love my dog". If this is all for the love of a dog , I personally do not want any part of it . Education is the key ! Can you imagine this being your beloved 4 legged Freind? Just for general info: there are way too many counties in every state across America like this ! We are a nation of plenty and yet give so little ! Please pray for this sweet baby. I am afraid the results from exam will not be good ! Please share in the hopes that maybe this will educate someone along the way!! This was written on a rescuers Facebook page and again so many fellow rescuers where coming to the aid of this dog but sadly this is a HUGE PROBLEM in rural America. There views of animal care is just cruel and inhumane way too often. Hudson sees first hand when he goes to visit his relatives in a small town these same situations. Most of them have dogs that they keep outside and think city people are nuts to have dogs inside. The dogs never go to the vet and are full of ticks and I'm sure heart worms and God knows what else. When I harp on my cousins to give their dogs heart worm prevention and flea and tick prevention monthly to make sure they don't get ticks, fleas and heart worms they inform me none of their dogs have died from any of these. I immediately fire back "how would you know when your dogs you claim go off in the woods and die?" It is so sad because so many family pets don't go regularly to a vet or ever get spay or neutered. I am constantly getting calls from one of my cousins to help out with puppies born outside under abandoned trailers etc... Like you I can never say No to a dog in need and always gladly help out. They will have a stray dog in town and no one helps it other than feeding it and when they think it affects their tourism then the sheriff wants to shoot it. I try to educate but breaking through this mentality is very tough. They still have people in town who throw puppies in the river after their dog gets pregnant....UGH !!!! I think I'm going to see if I can talk to an school assembly about animal care to try to reach out to the next generation.This is a tough one to break as rural people have a complete different mind set. It is a BIG PROBLEM for many reasons in rural America.
POVERTY: My personal opinion thinks that poverty plays a huge part as people who live in dire situations don't understand how awful they are treating their pets.
EDUCATION: Education plays a BIG role as well because many of these people don't know or have never been told what you need to do to take care of your pet. Your dog should be given once a month 2 things: a heartworm prevention pill to make sure they don't get deadly heart worms which are completely different from other worms & flea and tick prevention to help keep these petty creatures off them that can and do kill many dogs.Thousands of dogs are infected annually with dangerous tick-transmitted diseases - with the risk rising: Between 2006 and 2010, Veterinary Week reported a 30 percent increase in the rate of dogs exposed to tick-transmitted diseases.
Ticks are parasites that attach themselves to dogs, feed on blood and transmit diseases directly into the dog’s system. Major tick-borne diseases transmitted to dogs in the United States include:
• Lyme disease, which comes from the deer tick, can cause stiffness, lameness, swollen joints, loss of appetite, fever and fatigue. Your dog may not show signs of the disease until several months after infected.
• Canine Ehrlichiosis, found worldwide, is the most common and one of the most dangerous tick-borne disease organisms known to infect dogs. Caused by the brown dog tick, symptoms may not surface for months after transmission, and can include fever, loss of appetite, depression, weight loss, runny eyes and nose, nose bleeds and swollen limbs.
• Canine Anaplasmosis, also called dog fever or dog tick fever, is transmitted from the deer tick. Symptoms are similar to other tick diseases including fever, loss of appetite, stiff joints and lethargy, but also can include vomiting, diarrhea. In extreme cases, dogs may suffer seizures.
• Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever comes from the American dog tick, the wood tick and the lone star tick. Symptoms include fever, stiffness, neurological problems and skin lesions. Typically the illness lasts about two weeks, but serious cases could result in death.
• Canine Babesiosis is typically transmitted by the American dog tick and the brown dog tick. Causing anemia, symptoms may also include pale gums, weakness and vomiting.
• Canine Bartonellosis comes from the brown dog tick. Symptoms are intermittent lameness and fever. Left untreated, this disease can result in heart or liver disease.
• Canine Hepatozoonosis is thought to be transmitted by the brown dog tick and Gulf Coast ticks. Your dog can be infected if he eats one of these disease-carrying ticks. Symptoms are fever, runny eyes and nose, muscle pain and diarrhea with the presence of blood.
Treatment
The key to curing tick-borne disease is early diagnosis and treatment. Several broad-spectrum antibiotics to treat tick-borne disease are generally effective, especially in the early stages of the disease. Since antibiotics don't differentiate "good" from "bad" bacteria, antibiotic treatment destroys beneficial bacteria, along with disease-causing organisms. You may therefore want to give your dog probiotics to avoid the development of gastrointestinal problems. Be sure to follow the treatment plan recommended by your veterinarian.
Prevention
• The broad spectrum of possible symptoms associated with tick-borne diseases in dogs (including no symptoms) makes annual screening for tick disease a vital component of your pet’s annual veterinary exam. Tests are fast, with results while you wait.
• Numerous products and medications to prevent ticks on your dog are available both over the counter and from your veterinarian. Some veterinarians suggest a tick collar and and/or a preventative vaccination. No method offers 100 percent protection.
• Field dogs are especially vulnerable to tick-borne diseases because of time spent in tick-infested environments. Owners should therefore be diligent about applying topical or systemic tick-control treatments before outings.
SPAY OR NEUTERING YOUR PET: This is key to the overpopulation problem of dogs and cats in America. Every pet owner should spay or neuter your pet before they of age to have off springs. This list could go on and on but every dog owner should not adopt a dog unless they can properly take care of it. The dog can't tell you what you need to do to keep him/her healthy so you MUST EDUCATE YOURSELF and have enough money to properly take care of it.
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