8-2-09: Jake came to us a little over 2 weeks ago on 7-12-09. He arrived at our house about 10:30 pm on a Sunday night via an amazing number of Ragom volunteers starting in Brainerd. It was a very long day for Jake especially since his first transporter had to brave hours of traffic inching along due to road construction and accidents. These transport volunteers are amazing. Jake handled this long ride in multiple vehicles like the trooper that he is. Jake has lived all of his 5 years outdoors with one owner who knew Jake deserved a better life.

We took him to his very first vet visit ever a few days after we got him. He was given all the necessary shots and thought to be healthy. Unfortunately, his heartworm test was positive. All of the lab tests and chest x-ray did not show any serious problems. So after only being with us for a week, Jake had to go stay at the vet clinic for 5 days and receive two very painful injections to kill the heartworms. Again he handled this like a trooper. He's eating well and acting like a typical golden. The hard part is that for 6 weeks, he has to be kept quiet. That means no chasing balls or going for walks which he loves. He's also supposed to walk through the house. Well, Jake does not know the meaning of walk - he only knows run and dash. So we keep him tethered to us most of the time and in a crate more than all of us would like. But again, he's handling this like a trooper. He started on monthly heartworm preventative pills and in 4 months will have another heartworm test. If that is negative, he can then be neutered. So this is why is he not available for adoption yet.

Jake is an absolutely wonderful guy!!!! He has the typical golden personality - happy about everything. He loves to be close to us and be petted. There are often times when he is content to lie at our feet. But he's a high energy guy and not being able to be active is hard on him. He's eating well and learning about becoming housebroken. Before we knew he was heartworm positive, he was learning how to walk on a leash. He's done fine with our 4 resident goldens. He got along fine with our grandchildren when they were here last weekend. He's dark red and very thin so he gets extra treats. As you can see from the pictures, he is a very handsome guy!

Please tell everyone you know to have their dog checked for heartworms regularly so that their dog won't have to go through this painful treatment. We are grateful to Jake's former owner for relinquishing him to Ragom so he could get proper medical attention. We are grateful to the many Ragom volunteers who transported him. We are grateful to the Ragom organization for covering the expensive cost of the heartworm treatment. We are grateful for the opportunity to know and care for Jake who is a very special guy. We hope the treatment will be successful as Jake deserves to have a long, healthy life. We will keep you updated on his progress.