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More about Izzy

Izzy's Vet Bills

Izzy was diagnosed with Heartworm. Please help us get her the treatment she needs.

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Izzy was rescued by an investigator from a life on a heavy chain with only an airline crate as protection from the elements. The photo below is of where she used to live. If you look closely you can see her hiding in the back of the crate.

She is very happy to be away from that life and isn't looking back. Izzy loves people and thoroughly adores getting lots of attention and pets (something she had been deprived of for a long time). She can't wait until she finds a family to call her own.

UPDATE: 3/10/2010
Izzy went to see our vet who confirmed that she is, in fact, blind in her right eye. However, the biggest news is that, sadly, Izzy has tested positive for Heartworm. This means she will need a long and costly treatment to make her healthy again. The treatment will take months and she will need all your thoughts and prayers to help get her through.

On a good note, her right eye (the blind one) was likely that way since she was born and not causing her any discomfort. She gets around just fine with only the use of her left eye and seems to know no different. She will occasionally knock into things on her right side when she gets extra excited, but otherwise it doesn't seem to bother her.

Izzy is a very people-oriented dog and loves nothing more than to hang out by your side and make sure you're all right. Even though Izzy has lived her whole life outside on a chain with no experience of living in a home, she is a very smart dog. In a matter of a few days she has learned to go in her crate on command and is also learning not to jump up on people for attention and how to walk nicely on a leash (both of which she is picking up very fast). She has also learned how to open a lever-handled patio door in a matter of minutes... amazing! She prefers to be by your side all the time, but can handle being left alone during the day. She is being crate trained and is doing very well so far (hasn't had a single accident yet). Izzy is definitely looking forward to expanding her doggy repertoire once she gets cured of the Heartworm. Please consider making a donation in honor of Izzy to help defray some of her medical costs.
Izzy enjoys the view during training

UPDATE 3/19/2010 (from her foster mom)
I took Izzy out to the backyard/Forest Preserve for some long leash training (i.e. seeing how she reacts when she's not confined with a fence as well as working on the "come" command... which in this case is a whistle). She did VERY well. I used a 30' leash and she only went to the end of it twice and once was because she wanted to get closer to sniff the neighbor's chickens which were out in the yard. After a quick whistle to call her back she came running and got lots of praise. For the most part she prefers to stick right by me and when I would start walking in another direction she was by my side in a flash. She's just instinctively a wonderful dog. Imagine how she will be with a bit of training! Whoever adopts her is really going to luck out.

UPDATE 3/30/2010
For the last few weeks Izzy has been waiting.  There is currently a shortage of Heartworm medication (for more details read this article about the shortage) and we have anxiously been awaiting her name to come up on the waiting list.  Today we got the call and she has her first treatment scheduled for Monday, April 5th.  She has a long battle ahead of her.  It starts on Monday with an injection into her lower back and the whole process will take a minimum of 2 months.  The treatment is often quite painful and is uncomfortable for some time after.  Her activity level will need to be very restricted.  If she gets too excited and active, it can increase the risk of movement of the dead heartworms which can clog the arteries creating very serious complications in her heart and lungs.  After 4 weeks, she will need to go in for a second treatment and go through it all over again.  4 weeks after that she will need to be retested to see if they got them all and will hopefully be in the clear.  Please keep Izzy in your thoughts and prayers as she undergoes her treatment.  We also still need to raise the funds to pay for her treatment.  Please checkout the donation tracker above to see where we are at.  Thank you for your support! (Izzy thanks you too)