Meet Hunky
When we said we were taking Hunky, the shelter staff said a surprised, “really!?”
He was high heartworm positive, sat at the shelter for three months without treatment and the staff noted he had developed a cough, was becoming lethargic, and his spirits were declining.
Heartworms are SO EASY to prevent, yet sadly they run rampant in the shelter system, and are absolutely lethal if left untreated. When we were told Hunky probably wasn’t going to live to make it out of the shelter, we took one look into the eyes of a dog who was giving up, and we knew we were going to do everything to change that.
Hunky’s spirits improved almost immediately after a good scrubadub, and just when we saw the spark of a happy boy, his coughing fits got worse, he could barely wag his tail without coughing so much he was spitting up blood. Yet in-between fits Hunk would go back and forth between the two of us, giving kisses and nuzzling into our bodies with an amount of genuine gratitude that had us crying.
Hunky’s vet visit has proven to have more hurdles than expected. His X-rays show something concerning in his lungs, either a blood clot, a chunk of heartworms or some serious pneumonia. We are treating him for all the things, in hope we can make an improvement to his lungs, all this is before we can even see if he is healthy enough to treat his heartworms.
Hunky hasn’t had any crazy coughing fits in a couple days, and once he even sassy barked and tried to boop us, and so we are cautiously optimistic for this very special boy.
We took Hunky knowing there was a very real possibility that his heartworms would be so advanced he would not be a candidate for treatment. We took him knowing all this because Hunky is his own special being and he deserved a chance to live. They all do.
Hunky is a Swampie now with no idea of the whole tribe of people ready to love and support him on his journey. His spirit has shown us he isn’t giving up, and neither are we.
Update as of May:
Today Hunky went for his first heartworm injection and everyone at sevethospital said he was the bestest most sweetest for everything.
When we picked Hunk up tonight he was the saddest of boys. Instead of his usually bouncy wiggly self we were met with slow movements and lots of whining and grumbling complaints and yet, his tail still wagged.
Heartworm treatment is no joke, it’s a long and tough process for dogs to go through, but the injections are the most efficient way to get the heartworms out of their body quickly. Hunky has another month and two more shots to go, but he will be getting all the cuddles and pampering in the meantime.
Update October 2023:
Certified Hunk, 7 days a week!
Anyone that knows us knows how much we hold this sweet, charismatic boy near and dear to our hearts. We met Hunky one random day in March (of course after already committing to other dogs at the shelter) but after being told that he likely wouldn’t make it out alive, we knew he was coming home with us. Hunky had been deteriorating rapidly and was really just a shell of the dog he is now. He was high heartworm positive and had a cough that was getting alarming worse day after day. If that didn’t kill him, then he would have been euthanized for space when the time called for it. Tori and I sat on the floor with Hunky for a long time that night - we cried as he kept having to take breaks from his happy tail wags to cough up blood, and knew that even if he couldn’t be saved that he would at least know love up until the very end. But this Hunk proved just how determined he was to live as he overcame heartworms, pneumonia, blood clots in his lungs, lots of nasty teeth infections before before he was healthy enough for a much needed dental, and grew stronger right before our very eyes!
As time healed all his wounds, Hunky waited ever so patiently to find his forever home 7 whole months to be exact. In come our special friends at @inkandbarley who have been some of our biggest supporters for years now. We immediately knew that Hunky wasn’t getting stronger for us, but for them It only seems fitting that a pup as special as he is finds his family with people as special as they are. That fact that we still get to see him is just an added bonus Happy forever Hunky, you’ve earned this and so much more.
