Dexter Mendoza
Meet Dexter. He is one of our favorite second chance stories. Dexter found his way to the Mendoza home in 2009. He was underweight, malnourished, and in poor condition. Yet, despite his previous neglect, he was sweet and cuddly and seemed certain he had finally found his rightful home. In the brief day and a half that it took the Mendoza’s to locate his previous owners, Dexter had already stolen their hearts. So when the reaction they got from his family was less than positive—"this dog costs way too much to feed"—too much to feed"— they eagerly offered to take him as their own. Dexter was quickly vaccinated and neutered and nursed back to relative health, but the Mendoza’s soon noticed the hacking cough and heavy panting that accompanied even the slightest exertion. Dexter was heartworm positive and showing early signs of heartworm disease. He was quickly set up for treatment. Mom could not have been more nervous dropping him off for his first day, but she was assured that heartworm treatment was much safer than it used to be and healthy dogs rarely had severe adverse reactions to the injections. Of course, Dexter had to make a liar out of us. Five days post treatment Ms. Mendoza called in a panic. Dexter had had a coughing fit and collapsed. His gums were white and he was panting heavily. He was rushed into the hospital where he was placed on oxygen and treated for a post treatment reaction. He responded well but spent the night at the EC for observation.The doctor suspected a pulmonary thromboembolic event—a worm had dislodged from the heart and been thrown into the lungs. This is an extremely rare but potentially life-threatening side effect. However, Dexter fully recovered and had no more problems with his treatment. He is now happy, healthy and heartworm free. His mom vows never to see another one of her babies go through what he did. She is religious about giving their monthly prevention.
