Posted 7/1/2013 6:26 AM (GMT 0)
Hi QT,
I'm sorry to hear about your dog's diagnosis. Heartworm is indeed a very serious disease, and is not an easy thing to treat either. It is certainly something that I would not wish on any animal, or any owner.
I don't know what method your vet used to test your dog for heartworm, but the most commonly used test, the occult snap test, only detects mature heartworms (it actually detects a protein that is secreted by sexually mature & active adult female heart worms). It takes 6-7 mo for heartworms to mature after a dog is infected, so if your dog tested positive on a snap test, it means that he was infected at least 6 mo ago. As I said, this is the most common way to test for heartworm (this is the blood test that is used for routine screening for heartworm & is done in the office, with results back in 8 min), but there are other methods too. Advanced heartworm disease can be seen on xray. Immature heartworms (heartworms that the dog was infected with less than 6 mo ago, or the offspring of sexually mature adults) can be detected by looking at a blood smear, or by special filtration of the blood. This is usually only done if heartworm is suspected in an acutely ill dog. It may also be done in dogs who tested positive on a snap test, in order to determine if the dog's infection is active, and to estimate parasite load (the snap test does not tell you how bad the infection is, only that the dog is infected, but the presence or absence of heartworm larvae in the blood can give you an idea of how bad the infection is).
Unfortunately, the treatment for heartworm is going to be expensive wherever you go. There is currently really only one drug on the market that is used to kill adult heartworms. It is called Immiticide. Treatment with Immiticide must be done over 4 mo+, as the treatment in itself can be very dangerous (I'm sure your vet will talk to you in detail about what is involved, so I won't go into it here). The drug itself is not cheap. Even more unfortunate, is that there is currently an immiticide shortage in the USA, meaning that the drug must be imported from Europe. This is driving up prices even higher. You may want to try "shopping around," calling different veterinary practices in your area & asking for pricing estimates for your dog's treatment. Like anything else, some vets are less expensive than others.
It is great that you were approved for care credit. That is a fantastic program. However not all veterinary practices accept care credit as a method of payment, so before you try to use it, you need to check with your vet to see if they take it. Either way, definitely talk to your vet about your financial issues. Vets (at least the majority of them) are not out there to take all your money, and are willing to help with the financial side of things -- whether it is setting up a payment plan, or giving you a discount. However, you do need to remember, that as much as they would like to, they can't do everything for everyone for free. They have bills to pay, too, not to mention student loans. These days more than half of new veterinary grads are in so much debt, that they are considered in serious danger of going bankrupt (and unlike some, their loans are NOT forgiven even if they do go bankrupt). We do not make nearly as much money as the general public thinks we do. The current average starting salary for a small animal vet in the USA is around $44,000 per year (that is significantly less than what we pay each year for vet school tuition), and many of us (me included) will have upwards of $200,000 in loans (from veterinary school alone, college not included) by the time we graduate. Out of doctors, dentists, pharmacists, and vets, vets pay the second most for schooling (dentists pay an ever so slight amount more), and make by far the least amount of money. The numbers are really quite staggering... Anyways, I'll move on. That's my problem, not yours. Just sometimes people forget that vets have bills to pay, too, and that as much as they might like to, they can't keep their doors open if they do everything for free.
You should also ask your vet if their office has a patient assistance fund. Many veterinary hospitals have patient assistant funds, or money set aside to help pay for the care of patients whose owners could otherwise not afford to treat them. These funds are usually comprised of money that has been donated to the practice by clients, such as a gift given in gratitude and memory of their pet after it died. Some places will also have fundraising events for such funds, or will set aside a fraction of the practice's income. Staff members may also personally donate money to the fund. Any help that you get from a patient assistance fund will probably not cover the entire cost of your dog's treatment, but it may help.
Again, I am sorry to hear about your pup. Obviously, being in the veterinary profession, I understand how much your dog means to you. I too, would be lost without my own dogs. They are my best friends, and with all my problems both past and present, I know that I wouldn't have made it this far without them! I do hope that you are able to find the money or the help needed to treat your dog. Let us know what happens. In the mean time, you both are in my thoughts and prayers.
Skeye