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My dog Petey has been acting strange all week. I first noticed something was wrong with him, since he has lost his normally big appetite. He couldn’t even finish half the meal, that poor thing. Then, I noticed that it’s sleeping a lot during the day. Petey used to be one of the most energetic dogs, but now it seems so tired and lately. At first, I thought this was just a phase - he’s just acting up - Petey will bounce back in a few days. Unfortunately, his condition only grew worse, and I knew that something must be wrong with him.

This reminds me of the time when Petey got infected with some nasty biting pests, but I didn’t realize it right away. I knew he was irritated at something, but I was still a new dog owner back then and I didn’t know any better about the delicate intricacies of pets. Only after a week or so did I grab some K9 advantix from an online store, but it was a bit too late by then. Petey already spread his germs across every corner of the household. Let’s just say the following weekend involved a very long and tedious disinfection process!

I took Petey to the veterinarian just a few days ago. Her diagnosis is that Petey got a case of the heartworms disease, which could be serious if not treated properly and immediately. The best prescribed medicine for this condition is the generic heartgard. Although there are some risks involved with this type of medication, such as unwanted side effects, the vet reassures me that most dogs do not react too negatively to the medicine. At most, they might just scratch and itch a bit more than usual.

Contrary to my worst fears, Petey took the medicine like a champ and did not experience any negative side effects. He perked up over the next few days and I believe he’s back to his normal lively self after just a few days. Now that I know about the heartworms disease, and the exact remedy for this sickness, I will be better prepared to protect Petey the next time it happens.

(By the way, I adopted Petey at the local dog pound four years ago in order to commiserate my father’s death. My dad Peter was a huge dog person, and even though I live in a small messy apartment studio and could barely take care of myself, I still managed to introduce a dog into my household in the memory of my father.)