About four months ago or so I stepped outside to see what my normally quiet dogs were barking about and immediately saw a horrifying sight under our carport, two dogs, one of which was so thin I could not believe he was alive, let alone moving.

The boxer was a living skeleton. He also had an old burn going down the middle of his spine. The second dog, by appearances a boxer/mastiff mix was slightly thin but not remotely as a bad off as his buddy. I was apprehensive, they were large dogs and if they decided to become aggressive I could have been in real trouble but I had to help them. I knew if I let that boxer walk out of our yard he'd be as good as dead.

My fears of the temperaments of the strays quickly proved to be unfounded. I poured them food and they were both very loving and gentle. The boxer wanted to be by my side so badly that even though he was nearly starved to death he would only eat if I stayed next to him. There was not even a drop of food aggression from either. My husband called the local Humane Society and while they did not have any room in the shelter, they agreed to take on the dogs care if we could be fosters. We agreed. We already have two dogs, but we couldn't just let them wander off to die or be put to sleep.

Two days later we met the lady from the humane society at the vet office where both she and the vet herself were shocked at the boxers condition. No one there had seen a living animal that thin either. Then the really bad news came. They both had extremely end stage severe heart worms. There was no way they could undergo treatment in their current conditions nor did the humane society have the funds to treat them, especially since they were unlikely to make it even at better weights. We agreed to continue the dogs care while a rescue that was more able to treat them was found. Unfortunately after a week when we came home Thanksgiving night the boxer/mastiff we called "Bobby" was gone. He must have escaped and was never seen again.

Another problem arose with the boxer quickly. When he gets too excited, he gets too "excited" and his twinkie gets stuck and absolutely will not correct without human intervention. He cannot be neutered due to his condition. After several months no rescues willing to take him have been found. We cannot keep him. We already have two dogs, two cats, and a two year old. We cannot afford to keep him. The twinkie problem happens so often (three times yesterday as an example) that I fear it will occur when we are asleep or out of town for the day and cause him a very painful death.

We spoke to the humane society lady yesterday, and she told us that euthanasia might be the best and kindest option for him.

My husband is devastatingly upset. He starts to tear up and won't discuss it with me so I pose the question to you guys. You have always had good pet advice in the past. The dog is gentle in nature, and not badly behaved. Should we have him put to sleep as the humane society lady suggested? He is not our dog, so in the end the ultimate authority would be the humane society's and she does not want to push the decision too hard onto us.

Honestly, maybe it would be easier if she did. His life being in our hands is what is making this extremely hard.

What do you think?

As far as I know, the heartworm treatment itself is very hard to get. Shelters are not wanting/able to get the treatment and treat a potentially sick or unadoptable dog. They are concerned with numbers, not necessarily the pets quality of life.

How old is the dog? I always consider age a huge factor. Is this dog worth the money to put through heartworm treatment and a neuter? Is he going to live a long, happy life? Or is he older? If he is older, than he can probably live out his life with the heartworms. However, it is hard to adopt out a sick pet... either through the Humane Society, or through yourself. Honestly, if I was you, I'd probably keep the dog and let him live out a peaceful life. If he is as sick as you claim, that might not be very long...

I'm not quite sure what you mean by "twinkie".. Are you referring to his penis? I've never known an animal to die from his penis nerve being damaged and it not being able to retract. It can dry out and be painful.. but he can't die from it.. And of course, I'm just assuming you are referring to his penis as a "twinkie"

Contact boxer rescue... If he is a save-able dog, they will probably put money into him. There are many different ways to remove heartworms. One treatment is to go into the heart through the jugular vein and pull the worms out. It may sound horrible, but it is actually less traumatic to the heart because the worms are not dying all at once. The only reason heartworm treatment is deadly is because the worms all die at the same time and the body not being able to get rid of them.. creating a worm clot in the heart's arteries and veins that supply blood to the body. His weight is a concern due to the anesthesia. Skinny dogs do not metabolize the anesthetic very well and he would be considered a huge risk.

I think the only mistake you made was reliquishing him to the Humane Society. I'm not a fan of the human society because they are quick to kill if its not an easy fix. You should have contacted boxer rescue right away.. they would have taken him... Specific breed rescues take care of their breed.

Talk to the shelter and see if they will give the dog back to you and then contact boxer rescue.

I don't think that killing a dog based on what a shelter things is worth it. If he is old, then maybe consider it. If he has other disease, such as stage 4 periodontal disease, consider it... But if he is a young dog that has a lot yet in him... and by young, I mean anything under the age of 5-6yrs... then find a different way to treat him.

I'll say it again.. contact boxer rescue.. and it may not be the rescue that is in your area. Small rescues are poor.. Big rescues, such as ones on the east coast or west coast, have money... contact them...

This dog is fighting for his life.. Help him out.. Feed him and get some weight on him and then reassess his life.

Hi I fully understand what you are going through. I have been there not only with my own pets, but with strays. Sometimes it is better to let them go. Ya have no idea how long he has had the heart worms. Given the fact he does have heart worms, does not mean that the treatments will work and that is only delaying the inedible and causing him more suffering! If you truly care about him then care enough to let him go, do the right thing and help him so he is not in any more pain. Just imagine something eating away at your heart, you feel them move around inside, pushing themselves through new holes they create. That is such an uncomfortable feeling, like chiggers crawling under our skin eating though making you feel horrible. Well that is how they feel. I hope this helps! GL

I had a response typed up and then my computer hiccupped, I'll never be able to retype all that this close to bedtime but maybe I can summerize. Lucky makes some very good points. The larger the rescue the better the funding, that doesn't mean that they will certainly help him out but is sure is worth asking. In the meantime would a second opinion as to physical condition and treatment options be valid to you? If so call another trusted vet in your area. There are other options other than the immiticide (which is in short supply right now)but someone who can properly evaluate him should be able to guide you there.
Quality of life, age, expense, are all things to consider.
While heartworms are treatable it does come with risks. And while heartworms do not eat away at the heart nor do they create new holes, they are a very real health problem for the animal.
If he were treated and does well, is he an adoptable pet?
What are his chances for surviving treatment at this point? (this one is always a little up in the air)
How is his quality of life now?
All questions that need to be answered.
You can see him and judge his quality of life better than I, but I would say that if that is poor, then euthanasia may be a kind decision.
Maybe if given a little more time to put some weight on return to the healthier side of the fence he may be a better candidate for the treatment.
It's a judgement call for the people involved, and not an easy one.

The boxer "Mister" is still in our home. He is considered a foster. He is between 6-8 years old. The heart worms are severe in his heart and lungs. The humane society has been contacting boxer rescues and looking for sponsors, The vet feels that his chances of surviving the treatment however, is slim to none. They do not feel it is safe to neuter him either.
He has gained weight, I'd say about 20 lbs.
As I also said before, we cannot keep him. That really isn't an option. We already have enough pets. He is a sweet dog, but we just couldn't afford it nor are we in the poisition to add any more permanent pets. We cannot afford to treat him ourselves.
He doesn't seem miserable, just very tired a lot. I do wish a boxer rescue would step in. I have never dealt with a dog with heart worms before. The humane society lady seems euthanasia would be better and I just don't know. It is not the ending I would like for the dog we've been nursing for 4 months.

As I said before... the boxer rescues that can help probably won't be close to you.. Here are some websites..

BRLA Main Page

Welcome to Adopt a Boxer Rescue

Northeastern Boxer Rescue

American Boxer Rescue Association > Home

Fist I want to commend you for taking on this huge responsibility. You have my deepest sympathies and I can not imagine the agony you are going through right now. Euthansia is a touchy subject, in my books, no good dog gets put down, but as you say no one is willing to take on the responsibilities and you and your family have enough on your plate. Have you considered posting an add on kijiji or Craigs list looking for help or a home?

I am utterly frustrated with the SPCA and other various boxer rescue groups in my area right now. They all seem to be perched ont their high horses looking down at bad pet owners, ready to judge, but when someone is in need of help and reaching out looking for ideas and help to do the right thing, they have nothing to offer. Sorry that was my personal rant, but I feel your frustration. Another great site to look into is Adore-a-bull, they are one of the "wealthier" rescue foundations and they seem to be able to take on more hard knock cases such as this. They have lots of dogs already looking for homes, would you be able to continue to foster if they were able to foot the cost?

I am unable to log onto FB at this time, but I have some people I can reach out to, to see if there are any other viable options. I know a lady in the states who takes on older/sick/terminal dogs to spend the latter years if life in a warm loving home. She can only take so many as everything she does comes from donations and her own pocket. Once I am able to log on I will reach out to her and see if she has any information to gve.

I tried to contact the rescues above but the messages will not go through with my phone so I will have to wait a few days for computer access.

The dog's temperament is fairly good. He is sweet, good with dogs, people and young children. Not so much with cats. He gets really excited and focused around them. I'm not sure if he would hurt them but it is a possibility. He is house trained. I'm not sure what power I would have to rehome or rerescue him myself, since he is a the humane society's dog.

I would hope that the Humane Society would give you the right to rehome him if you were able to find someone better suited to deal with his situation. But then you can't predict how they would react to the question if they have anything invested in him. My son rescued 2 dogs a while back that were supposed to be picked up by our animal control agency, darn kid couldn't sit for a day and wait while they gave notice at the empty house where they were left. Animal Control wound up donating about 70 pounds of food to him for them. Go figure.
I'm a firm believer in doing what I can for any living thing that crosses my path, but there are some cases when you just have to look at the big picture. The overall health of the dog, his survivability, his age, etc.
I really hope that some of the agencies you have contacted can help him and you don't feel that you have to make a choice out of desperation.
God bless you for what you are doing to give him fighting chance and even if it turns out that it is not the ending you hoped that he has had some time with someone who cared for him and that is a good thing.