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Max's Blog

Category: Dog Success Stories

Beating the Odds Six Ways to Sunday

Starved, burned, and used as bait for dogfighting in south Texas, Jakes had a rough start. Owners Kelli and Jorn adopted him through Rescue Dogs Rock in New York City, and life improved dramatically. Since then, Jakes has had two brushes with cancer, which was successfully treated. But one day, he went from his happy self to acutely miserable within a few hours. Kelli made a beeline to Animal Medical Center (AMC) and he was diagnosed with acute heart failure. He needed a pacemaker, now[…]

Bouncing Back Strong

Bouncing Back Strong Teddy was diagnosed with Chagas disease at just six months old after becoming critically ill from severe heart disease caused by the infection. At one point, he was experiencing over 50,000 premature heart contractions […]

Testing Every Rescue

Testing Every Rescue In 2007, a rescue dog, Max, presented us with our first case of Chagas disease. Although Max succumbed to the disease, his death launched us on the journey to find a cure. Thirteen years […]

Summer, Storm, and Aspen

Summer’s litter of puppies had been planned for three years. Lori, her owner and breeder, reviewed five years of OFA testing data on potential studs, had complete health workups for all of her own dogs, and did everything with scrupulous attention to detail. Seven strong healthy pups were born on Easter Sunday, 2017: Storm (right in photo), Rain, Cassie, Rhythm, Cairo, Zoe, and Aspen. Everything was great until three months later, when puppies began falling mysteriously ill.

Remy

A “hoosier” as his owners affectionately call him, Remy was born in Indiana and came to live with his owners in Louisville, KY. After several moves, they retired to Canyon Lake, TX and settled in happily. After several months, Ann noticed that Remy had begun panting constantly. He was having difficulty keeping his normal pace on walks. When Ann took him to their vet, Dr. Madigan, they tested for several possible conditions, including Chagas.

Doing the dinner dance

Alsace and her younger sister Harlan love dinner. Turn down food? Unthinkable. Every evening the two dogs wag, wiggle, and throw in a few shimmies while Janelle and Kent prepare their bowls. Then it’s a sashay and race to the back yard for the grand finale. In late 2016, the dinner dance was in full swing when suddenly, Alsace collapsed to the ground.

DNDI

Chagas Task Force of Texas

CDC