Welcome to the second issue of the Tails of the Tundra eNewsletter. In this issue, read about:

• Our first annual Tails on the Trails Adopter's Picnic and Husky Hike Fundraiser
• Some new and old faces of dogs looking for families to call their own
• Financial assistance to help pay for those high medical bills when your dog becomes injured or ill
• Heartworms—what they are, how you can prevent them, and one dog's story

Tails of the Tundra Siberian Husky Rescue, Inc. will hold its first annual picnic on Saturday, September 27, 2003 at Core Creek Park in Langhorne, PA. The event will consist of a fundraising hike starting at 8:30 a.m. followed by a picnic in the afternoon. We're still in the early planning stages, but proposed activities include a mushing demonstration, CGC test, raffles and/or a silent auction, and more. The hike and picnic promise to be a good time for all. So, whether you're a current volunteer, a past adopter, a future volunteer, a future adopter, or just love dogs and want to have a good time while helping a good cause, be sure to join us on September 27th.

More news will be forthcoming over the next few months. Stay tuned to the TOTT web site and upcoming issues of this eNewsletter for details and registration information. Mark it on your calendar!

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Quik's Quest

On Monday morning, May 5, the staff of the Anne Arundel County, MD Animal Shelter arrived at work with heavy hearts, thinking they were faced with the task of sending one of their favorite dogs—a petite little black and white Husky with blue eyes and the prettiest mask—to the Rainbow Bridge.

The dog's name was Nikita and her owners, with whom she had lived for the past four and a half years, had turned her in. They claimed that she was too rambunctious for their young children, ages one and two and a half. In the six weeks she had been at the shelter, she had managed to endear herself to everyone she met. Now, out of room, they needed to send her on her final journey.

Imagine their joy when the phone rang and the voice on the other end said, "Hi, this is Penny from Tails of the Tundra. If you can hold Nikita until Saturday morning, we have a foster home for her."

Nikita, now named Quik, had begun her quest for a new forever home. See her pictures, read her story, and learn about her incredible trip to her foster home in NJ.

Get Your Venus Husky Kisses Here!

Venus is not a new face but one who is still looking for her special family. Her foster mom says:

"Venus is a sweet, petite girl who loves people and loves to give Venus Husky kisses to everyone she meets. She has been my foster girl since December. Little Miss Venus is a wondrous little girl who found her way out onto the busy streets of Philadelphia and was hit by a car. The injury is healed but has left her with arthritis in her left hind leg/foot. She does well on her medication, which costs about $30 a year, not much to keep this little sweetheart comfortable. Come take a look at this little girl; she will steal your heart away."

Drambuie in the Fun Zone

Drambuie, another soul looking for a home, has a fan in Jessica, a 12-year-old artiste extraordinaire who has drawn her favorite dog for our art museum. See other great works of art, or send us your own!

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The July 2003 issue of Dog Fancy published an article called "Dollars and Sense" that listed some organizations that can help people in crisis who are unable to afford extensive or emergency vet care for their pets. Some of these organizations include:

• Help-A-Pet - P.O. Box 244, Hinsdale, IL 60521; (630) 986-9504; www.help-a-pet.org. Provides financial assistance for the vet care of pets to owners who are unable to afford the expense.
• IMOM, Inc. - P.O. Box 282, Cheltenham, MD 20623; (866) 230-2164; www.imom.org. In Memory of Magic offers funding for dogs that face death or euthanasia if they don't get immediate care.
• The Travis Fund - Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine, 200 Westboro Road, North Grafton, MA 01536; (508) 839-5302; www.tufts.edu/vet/gift/p&p.html. This fund aids owners who can't afford the full cost of the care their dogs receive at Tuft's Foster Hospital.
• United Animal Nations - www.uan.org. Provides aid for emergency vet care for low-income owners and rescuers.

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Spring is finally in the air and, on the East Coast, plenty of rain along with it. With spring and rain comes mosquitos and their possible transmission of heartworm to our beloved dogs. Every pet owner should be aware of the dangers of heartworm.

Why should we correlate mosquitos with heartworm? Because mosquitos carry the larval stage of the worm called microfilariae. A mosquito ingests the microfilariae when it bites an infected dog, then deposits its "cargo" in an uninfected dog. The microfilariae go through several changes to reach adult form. The "worm" then goes into the dog's heart where it reproduces, and can remain in the dog's heart for several years, sometimes reaching 12 inches in length.

Female heartworms bear thousands of live offspring a day. These young microfiliariae hang around and wait to hitch a ride on a mosquito to find a new "host"; meanwhile, the worms in the infected dog continue to grow and breed and bear offspring, clogging the heart, lungs, and arteries.

Without a test, you would never know your dog was infected until it began to show outward signs, such as coughing during or after exercise, is listless, has trouble breathing, tires easily, or loses weight inexplicably. By that time, treatment is risky.

What if my dog does get heartworms? Audrey, one of our TOTTSHR volunteers, has helped three dogs through the successful treatment of heartworms. It is a very scary process that requires the dog to undergo injections of an arsenic compound. In reality, they are dosing the dog with a poison that is not strong enough to kill the dog, but strong enough to kill the heartworms. The dog must be healthy enough to filter out the poisons that are injected into it (typically three treatments are necessary), and—because after the treatment, the dead heartworms are still lodged in the dog's system—be kept very quiet for an extensive recovery period. The recovery period is just as difficult as the arsenic treatment itself. It consists of at least 6 weeks of cage recovery (no exercise, no exertion, no excitement) until the dog's body can absorb the dead heartworms. Any exertion could cause chunks of the dead heartworms to dislodge and block an artery, imbed in the heart, or go to the brain, causing death.

Audrey writes:

"The third dog we had treated was Zodiac. Before he was diagnosed, I noticed that when he got excited, he would gasp for air. I called the vet to inquire about this. It seems that Zodiac's heartworms had progressed more than for Simba and Rendezvous. The vet said that the heartworms had traveled into his lungs. After Zodiac's first treatment, he was lying quietly in his crate as I worked on the computer. All of a sudden, he let out this god-awful scream! I just about jumped out of my chair. When I went to him, I noticed that he was breathing extremely hard and he was swaying back and forth. I immediately called the vet, who told me to bring him right over. All the way over, he kept panting and weaving. I thought, "Oh, my God, he's not going to make it!" I talked to him the whole way trying to comfort him. I was so relieved when we arrived at the clinic. They immediately took Zodiac into the room. The vet listened to his heart and lungs and said that everything sounded okay. He did notice that Zodiac was a little inflamed where the shot had been injected. He prescribed some medicine and I took him home. I watched him like a hawk the rest of the day. Zodiac also has to stay quiet; no running, no playing. During this whole process, you wouldn't even know that something was wrong with any of them. They all seemed like normal, healthy dogs. Without that blood test and treatment, we may have lost them all."

How do I prevent this from happening to my dog? Prevention is the best treatment for heartworms. Starting your dog on preventative treatment year round will keep your dog from undergoing not only a very risky treatment, but the after effects of heartworm. Monthly heartworm tablets such as Interceptor and Hartguard prevent not only heartworm, but also some other common parasites.

There are a lot of risks involved in treating heartworm-positive dogs, such as death from the arsenic compound, death from blockage, congestive heart or lung failure from the infestation, or heart, lung, and other organ damage. Monthly prevention will keep your best friend healthy, happy, and heartworm free.

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