Xavier
Male Adult Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Mixed (mixed) Medium
What can we say about Xavier, our Hurricane Hound heart worm survivor? X came to TRD from Acadiana Animal Aid in Louisiana after Hurrica...
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What can we say about Xavier, our Hurricane Hound heart worm survivor? X came to TRD from Acadiana Animal Aid in Louisiana after Hurricane Harvey hit that area hard. Acadiana reached out to us and other rescues to take some of their animals to try to make room for other pets displaced by the storm and its after effects. Xavier was a special case because Acadiana knew he had heart worm, and understandably, not a lot of rescues are willing to take on a heart-worm-positive dog. One of our amazing fosters bravely stepped up to take on the challenge of a heart-worm-positive foster dog (a typical treatment and recovery takes at least 4 months, with the chance that the dog will not recover). We embarked on the journey of nursing Xavier back to health in November 2017, and it was a rough road. Xavier had many complications due to the heart worms. He had 31 live heart worms removed from his body, and suffered several side effects of the infestation, including severe anemia and other complications. We were not sure at some points if Xavier was going to pull through. Thanks to some amazing and generous care from our vets, and a little dogged (pun intended) determination from Xavier, we are THRILLED to report that Xavier has officially received a clean bill of health and is ready to find his forever family. Because of all of his health issues related to his heart worms, Xavier will still need some regular follow up care and will need to take time to taper off of his immunosuppressant medication. Our adoption coordinator will review this in detail with all potential adopters.
Xavier is about 2 and a half years old as of April 2018. He's been with TRD for the last six months. In that time, Xavier has stolen the hearts of everyone he meets, with his handsome face and adorably sweet personality. Because of his heart worm diagnosis, Xavier hasn't been able to make it out to dog parks or on pack walks, but he has spent plenty of time walking in and out of vet offices, and is a gentleman on leash and with other dogs. Once Xavier started feeling better, he showed a lot of interest in toys, especially ones he could "deconstruct". Xavier's new family will want to keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn't accidentally ingest the toys he so loves to play with (and sometimes destroy). Xavier lives with two other dogs and a very sassy cat, and does will with everyone. He does sometimes get a little protective of his favorite toys, and also his food, but his foster mom has been working on this with him and it is a manageable behavior that he can be trained out of with consistency. Xavier is a super handsome spaniel who will make a great addition to a family ready to spoil and love him like he deserves. Xavier weighs in around 20 pounds and is full grown. If you would like to be the happy ending to Xavier's extraordinary tale of adventure, please fill in an adoption application on the TRD website and an adoption coordinator will be in touch to schedule a meet and greet.
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