Taffy and Choco were pulled from high kill shelter in Southeastern, KY by a rescue person there who thought for sure she could either find them homes or find them a rescue to help them.   She reported to us that Choco and Taffy were both sweet and extremely playful and LOVED their baby pools.  MAESSR immediately agreed to help them and set about finding them foster homes, organizing a 12+ hour transport to get them into our care and getting them to the vet to get them ready for travel.

During their basic exams, including a fecal exam, heartworm test, and vaccinations, both were found to have high infestations of hookworm and both tested positive for heartworm disease.   Both dogs received their hookworm treatment and Taffy was spayed.  Once they got all of the matting shaved off Choco, much to their surprise, they found he was already neutered. 

Heartworm is spread by mosquitoes.  Anywhere there are mosquitoes, there is the risk of Heartworm.  This is, of course, more widespread in areas where the summer season is longer such as it is in the southern states, however, heartworm cases have been diagnosed in nearly every part of the United States.  This is the reason that all MAESSR dogs are required to be on Heartworm prevention.   Heartworm disease can have very serious consequences for a dog if left untreated and will ultimately result in major organ failure and death.  As the old saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, never is that more true than in the case with Heartworm in dogs.    Lucky for Choco and Taffy, MAESSR is committed to ensuring they get the best care, however, the treatment for Heartworm is very expensive. 

This will include x-rays and bloodwork, treatment to kill the adult heartworms and treatment to kill the microfilaria (aka the baby heartworms) living in their blood stream and any supportive medication they need depending on how they handle the treatment.   MAESSR treats dogs with heartworm with some frequency, but in this case we have the compounded issue of determining if there is anything that can be done for Choco's leg.  He is not using one of his front legs.  It does not appear that he is in a pain at this time, but there is an old injury of some kind and we will need to do x-rays to determine the extent of the injury and if there is anything that can be done to get him some use back in that leg. 

MAESSR is committed to the care of these and all of the dogs that find their way to us.  If you would like to sponsor Taffy and Choco, please click the link below.   Of course, any overage of funds received for their care, will be used to support all of the many other dogs MAESSR takes in throughout the year.

As with all MAESSR dogs, Choco and Taffy will have their own web pages and we will be updating them throughout their stay in foster care until they are both ready for adoption. 

MAESSR Tax Files

IRS Tax Exempt Letter     501c3 Letter    

MAESSR is not an affiliate of English Springer Rescue America, and receives no funding from ESRA.