Blue

We first met Blue in 2018, when he entered the shelter as a stray. He was reclaimed fairly quickly and was microchipped before he left, so we met him again almost exactly 6 years later, we knew exactly who he was. Officers left door hangers at his residence (very close to where he was found), we called, we emailed, we texted, we sent Facebook messages…. All went unanswered.

It was the holidays, so we thought maybe his owners were out of town, having left Blue in the care of friends or neighbors, and at the time, we were not overly full, so we could give them all the time they needed to come get their dog. But sadly, after a month, with absolutely no contact from his previous owners – we have to accept they aren’t coming.

Blue was heartworm positive back in 2018, and tested positive again this year, so we can only assume they never got him treated and were never keeping him on any sort of heartworm preventative. Being heartworm positive for AT LEAST 6 years (that we know of, could be longer) can do real damage to a dog’s internal organs so we got him over the vet for a senior panel and to make sure there had not yet been any irreversible damage. His bloodwork was far from ideal, but still good enough to begin heartworm treatment this week.

Blue is a pit bull terrier, about 60 pounds, neutered and we are guessing at least 10 years old. Blue is great on a leash, appears house trained, terrific in the car, dog AND cat friendly and so far has loved pretty much everyone he has met.

Blue needs a Foster or Foster to Adopt placement for the next 8-12 weeks to continue to support his heartworm treatment. During this period, he needs to be kept mostly calm, crated mostly, and only out for on leash walks – absolutely no romping with other dogs or off leash time in the yard – but once those heartworms are good and dead, he can go back to being a regular dog.

His life expectancy MAY be shortened by him having these heartworms go so long without being treated, but he could also easily have another good 4-5 years in him. Older dogs tend to need more veterinary care than younger dogs, so his foster needs to be ready, willing and able to take him for regular checkups with our vet here in town. We have grant funding to support his vet care for the next 4 months but after that, it will be his adopter’s responsibility to keep him healthy and happy.

We just know there’s a hero out there who will be PERFECT for Blue – can you help us find them?

Interested? Submit a Foster Application HERE: https://www.hsnba.org/get-involved/foster/