Fundraiser for Valentine's Heartworm Treatment

Update 04.08: We did it! Valentine's heartworm treatment and upcoming neuter operation have all been paid for by generous animal rescuers. Thank you so much for helping me out with getting this awesome dog healthy and ready for adoption. 500,000 won was donated over just a couple weeks. Awesome!!!

Not all of us are able to foster dogs or volunteer, but rescue work is not exclusive to only those two things. Donating money, food and animal supplies are also a huge part of rescue work and it helps those people who are able to foster, but perhaps do not have enough resources to do so.

So, thank you for making fostering Valentine a lot easier and definitely less stressful for me. I can't wait for Valentine to find his home sweet home and for another foster dog to spend a couple weeks or months with me.

Thank you to the following people for your donations:

Kristina Collins
De Anne Dubin
Justin Bos
Karen and Eric Busch
Mark Johnson
Lora Kluber
Rae Mullins
Matthew Dayz Go-By
Praveen Kumar
Tamzin Whelan
Katie Orazem
Clare Mills
Monique Kauffmann
Meaghan Hynes

Update 04.07: 465,000 won has been donated so far. Thank you for your help! If you would like to donate, please scroll down for the bank info.

Valentine is doing great!

Update 03.31: Valentine has been at home since last Thursday and is in great spirits. He acts as if nothing has happened. He'll be confined to a very small room I have for the next month. He spends most of his time sleeping or lying down by the door (I can see through the window) and goes on two walks a day to relieve himself. He has a great appetite and is very eager to play, but unfortunately that has to be restricted. I spend time in his room a couple times a day and give him lots of belly rubs. The place on his back where the injections were administered is shaved and slightly bruised, but otherwise you wouldn't be able to tell he's going through treatment.

Update 03.25: I took this video today. We were on our way to the animal hospital for Valentine's first injection. That was at around noon. If there are any complications, I'll be updated by the vet. It took him three tries, as Valentine was extremely scared and wouldn't allow us to even hold him (I had no idea I'd be part of the procedure), but eventually the vet got it in. Injection two will happen tomorrow and he'll be on pain killers for a couple days. I will most likely be able to take him home on Thursday or Friday, assuming there are no complications.

The vet said that the injection is actually the least painful part of the entire procedure and that an hour or two after the injection is when the pain becomes hard to bare, which is why the pain killers are necessary. Once the poison begins to distribute throughout his body, it'll cause a lot of damage (it unfortunately doesn't just affect the heart worms) but with a healthy dog like Valentine, it should not be a big concern.

--

Nearly three months ago, I found Valentine walking on the street and have been fostering him since. I took him in and had his health checked. Unfortunately, he is heartworm positive. Since I found him, he’s been on the “slow-kill” method of heartworm treatment. This method takes up to a year to kill the worms. Unfortunately, only one person has expressed interest in Valentine, and I think it is due to the fact that he is heartworm positive and not neutered. Because of this, I now think the “fast-kill” method of the injections, which kills the heartworms over the course of a month, is best, as he’ll also be able to be neutered around three months after, making him more adoptable. Thankfully, the slow-kill method is beneficial to the injections because it weakens the worms, for a less dangerous recovery.

Valentine is a Japanese Spitz mix who is very friendly with everyone he meets and adjusts quickly to new environments. He is as beautiful inside as he is on the outside, and his friendly face really does reflect his personality. Once he's done with his treatment we'll continue looking for his forever home. Here's his profile: http://www.animalrescuekorea.org/dog/2644

I would like to ask for financial assistance for the heartworm treatment and the neuter surgery which will follow. Valentine’s vet has been very kind to us since I found him and has given us discounts on every treatment up to this point (including the slow-kill drugs). He will also provide a discounted price for the heartworm treatment and neuter surgery.

The cost for the heartworm treatment, which includes blood test, medicine for a month, injections, hospitalization and the second heartworm test, will be 380,000 won. The neutering will cost 120,000 won. I will post the receipts as I receive them.

Here’s the complete breakdown of the prices without the discounts:

Heartworm Treatment

Blood Test: 45,000
Injections: 250,000
Medicine: 90,000
Hospitalization (2 days): 40,000
HW Test after treatment: 35,000

Neutering:

Blood Test
Castration: 145,000

Total: 605,000

Discounted Total: 500,000