February

All happy endings start off with a rough beginning...as was the case for sweet February. 

Rescuers at Cane Rosso Rescue were made aware of a family of neglected dogs in Carrollton, Texas by a Good Samaritan. She would often go to feed the dogs, and she was told by neighbors that she better take them otherwise they would start shooting them when they started blocking the streets. She also noticed that one of the older puppies had a very deep wound that exposed tendons and bones. So, with no time to waste, another rescue offered to take mom and babies, and Cane Rosso Rescuer offered to take February, the injured female.

Just when February was headed for recovery, she stopped eating. After rushing her to the vet, rescuers discovered her blood platelets were almost non-existent and she was rushed to the ER for transfusions. She was stable, but began breathing rapidly and couldn't catch her breath. Doctors found fluid around her heart and urgently drained it to have sent it off to find out what it was and what caused it. Rescuers got some scary predictions from the vet for what they thought February may have been suffering from? Chagas disease.

This was due to insects known as ?kissing bugs? feeding on the blood of animals (such as her big open wound.) The kissing bug excretes a parasite in its fecal matter, and that parasite enters the host through a wound in the skin. Some dogs remain asymptomatic, but others can have acute or chronic issues with it. It's predominately characterized by inflammation and fibrosis of the heart, resulting in arrhythmias, myocardial dysfunction, heart failure, and sudden death.

She was indeed diagnosed with the disease and had to get heart surgery with a 50% survival chance?rescuers took the risk. After several weeks of recovery, follow-up visits with her vet, and no more problems detected, her fosters weaned her off most of her medicine and she was able to come home with an ADOPTER! She'll likely always need a few medications each day to manage the Chagas but we're hoping and praying for a long happy life ahead of her. Thank you to everyone who made her happy ending possible!