More than half of the dogs that we are rescuing in Louisiana and Mississippi are infected with heartworm (Dirofilaria immitis). Heartworm is a very serious parasitic infection that will kill its host unless treated. Even treatment can sometimes kill the dog, although this is much less common today than it was in the past.

The heartworm is a fairly large worm (up to 14 inches long) that, in adulthood, lives in the heart and pulmonary arteries of an infected dog. Dogs acquire this infection through mosquito bites as mosquitoes readily pick up larval heartworms from infected dogs and carry them to new dogs.

Broken Down Dogs has run into the problem of filling up with heartworm positive dogs while the heartworm negative dogs are being transported out to shelters in other states across the US. This is because heartworm treatment is very expensive and many states will not allow heartworm positive dogs into their state. We want to help.

Project Starfish will be helping to pay for heartworm treatment for the 50 dogs currently at Broken Down Dogs Shelter. Once they are treated, they must rest for a week and then they can go to their new homes out of state. We have found a vet that is offering us a very significant discount. Heartworm treatment can run upwards of $800/dog.

Since the only way these 50 dogs will ever leave the shelter is to have their heartworm infection treated, we hope you will help us. We are going to try to post pictures of the dogs that need treatment. We hope you will help by sponsoring one of these guys.

In the meantime, talk to your vet about heartworm prevention! This is always important, but now it is critical as dogs from AL, LA, and MS move around the country.

For more information, email us at info@projectstarfish.org