Timber’s Heartworm Treatment Update
We’ve been waiting to share an update on Timber since his Heartworm treatment, but it’s been a bit of a rollercoaster. Unfortunately, the treatment caused some unexpected GI issues — something we don’t normally see. He’s been on strict rest, only going for short walks to use the bathroom. To be extra cautious, we kept him under the care of his cardiologist, Dr. Jesty at CVRC, to ensure he was in the best possible hands.
On the day of his injection, Timber developed a mild arrhythmia. His ECG showed some atrial premature complexes (APCs) — early beats coming from the upper chambers of the heart. On their own, APCs aren’t dangerous or something that usually needs treatment, but given Timber’s history of severe malnourishment, we’re taking every precaution possible.
The main issue we’ve been dealing with since treatment has been nighttime vomiting and a decreased appetite, which led to about a five-pound weight loss. While that’s not ideal, it isn’t alarming at this point. We suspect the die-off of the Heartworm burden has put extra stress on his body, which is likely contributing to his nausea and reduced appetite. Now that he’s no longer in danger of Refeeding Syndrome, he doesn’t need as many calories as before, which is also part of the adjustment. We’ve revised his feeding schedule, reduced his prednisone, and discontinued his pain meds to help ease the GI upset. The worst of his nausea peaked around five days after his injection, and thankfully, we’re starting to see gradual improvement.
Timber continues to be closely monitored by his entire specialty care team. Any small change in how he’s feeling is immediately addressed — whether that means adjusting his medications or bringing him back to the hospital for additional care. His progress so far is a testament to his incredible strength, the dedication of his veterinary team, and the constant love surrounding him. We are absolutely committed to keeping him moving forward — no steps backward for this boy.
Despite the rough patches, Timber has remained his happy, affectionate self, full of tail wags and kisses, even when he wasn’t feeling his best.
We’ve had an incredibly hard six months with Timber and the other dogs under our care. It seems like when the older ones aren’t developing tumors from past mistreatment and malnourishment, the new arrivals come in with some of the worst breaks we’ve seen in a long time. Nothing is ever straightforward — a break is never just a break, and “malnourished” often comes with a whole list of complications.
We’ll be posting updates on several of our animals this week, but we wanted to make sure everyone had an update on our special boy, Timber. Any extra funds you can spare truly help us continue giving him and the others the care they need to heal.
Thank you for caring about Timber and all of us. Your love and support mean the world. ❤️
