Ginny Flowers, Vice President, Coastal Humane Society, Scout Schillings, Grants Manager, Outer Banks Community Foundation
Chris Sawin, Executive Director, Outer Banks Community Foundation, Patti Bourexis, President, Coastal Humane Society
The Coastal Humane Society is excited to announce a generous grant of $5000 has been awarded by the Outer Banks Community Foundation to subsidize our new program Help a Dog’s Heart. This program will provide free heartworm testing at our 2022-2023 Vaccination Clinics and offer assistance with heartworm prevention medication and treatment.
Heartworms are parasitic roundworms that are spread from host to host through the bites of mosquitoes. It is a potentially fatal disease. Heartworms that live inside the host animal, mature, mate and produce offspring. The longer the pet goes untreated, the greater the number of heartworms and the more difficult and more expensive it is to treat. Heartworm disease can cause lasting damage to the heart, lungs and arteries of the dog affecting its health and quality of life. Prevention is the best option but if a dog is infected, early detection is critical in ensuring a better outcome.
Help a Dog’s Heart launched on September 11th at our first fall Vaccination Clinic. Thirty-eight dogs received a free heartworm test. Thankfully, all tested negative! If your dog has not had a heartworm test in more than a year, plan to attend our upcoming Vaccination Clinics. Follow us on FaceBook for clinic details.
The Coastal Humane Society has helped over 10,000 OBX pets and their families since 1997 by providing low-cost pet vaccinations, aiding owners with financial help for spaying and neutering and emergency or expensive medical care. Go to our website for more information about our programs and services or to make a tax-deductible donation (obxcoastalhumanesociety.org).
