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Some Chocolate Labrador Retrievers are called chocolate for good reason. Everyone fawns over O'Malley.





O'Malley was sent back to Ohio for his heartworm treatment (couldn't get enough of the drug here in Toronto for some reason) and now that he's all fixed, he's back at Toronto Animal Services South getting ready for adoption.

For adoption information on this dog and other dogs (and cats and other animals), please visit Toronto Animal Services.



7 Comments to “O'Malley - Chocolate Labrador Retriever”

  1. Anonymous says:

    Sent back to Ohio? seriously? lack of heartworm medication in Canada is extremely worrying if this is so. Lucy you got some splaining to do? I don't understand this at all?

  2. Fred says:

    It's not the monthly drops that weren't available, it was the actual injections needed to kill the heartworm after a dog has contracted it - but yes, still worrying. I'm not sure if it was just a local to Toronto problem or what.

  3. Anonymous says:

    Fred, would you by any chance know the name of the drug manufacturer? I'd like to get to the bottom of this.
    A curious investigator. Well I guess that's an oxymoron.

  4. Fred says:

    Anon, I'm sorry I don't know the manufacturer. I'm not even sure what the name of the drug is, maybe just a much higher dose of the monthly drops? If there was a shortage on the drug, maybe a local vet might have that info.

  5. Alex says:

    According to this page:

    The only product currently available for the treatment of adult heartworms is melarsomine dihydrochloride (Immiticide® by Merial).

    That's different from the preventive drugs which are apparently:

    ivermectin-based heartworm preventive products

    It's apparently a global shortage, so Canada isn't getting singled out.

    I am not a vet, just good at google.

  6. Fred says:

    Thanks for digging. I hope the supply returns as I don't see heartworm disappearing anytime soon.

  7. Lisa says:

    This has been going on for awhile, and is a significant problem. They are bringing some Immiticide in from Europe, but it's case-by-case so it's still a big problem.

    Shortly after Merial announced the impending shortage of Immiticide, orders from veterinarians flooded in and wiped out the company’s supply of the drug, Merial says. The resulting shortage could last for weeks or months, the company adds. Until supplies of the heartworm treatment stabilize, Merial says it has recorded requests from veterinarians and will contact those veterinarians when supplies become available.

    http://veterinarynews.dvm360.com/dvm/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=742207

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A request

The reason for this blog is to help get specific dogs adopted from TAS but equally important is to try to normalize the idea of shelter dogs being just as good and just as desirable as any other dogs including those which are regularly merchandised by backyard breeders, puppy millers and those few remaining pet store owners who still feel a need to sell live animals. The single greatest stigma shelter animals still face is the belief that shelter animals are substandard animals. Anyone who has had enough experience with shelter animals knows this is untrue but the general public hasn't had the same experiences you've had. They see a nice dog photo in a glossy magazine and too many of them would never think of associating that dog with a dog from a shelter. After all, no one abandons perfectly good dogs, right? Unfortunately, as we all know, perfectly good dogs are abandoned all the time.

The public still too often associates shelter dogs with images of beat up, sick, dirty, severely traumatized animals and while we definitely sometimes see victims such as these, they are certainly not the majority and, regardless, even the most abused animals can very often be saved and made whole again.

Pound Dogs sometimes discusses the sad histories some of the dogs have suffered. For the most part, though, it tries to present the dogs not as victims but as great potential family members. The goal is to raise the profiles of animals in adoption centers so that a potential pet owner sees them as the best choice, not just as the charity choice.

So, here's the favour I'm asking. Whenever you see a dog picture on these pages you think is decent enough, I'd like you to consider sharing it on Facebook or any other social media sites you're using (I know many of you do this already and thank you for that). And when you share it, please mention that the dog in the photo is a shelter dog like so many other shelter dogs waiting for a home. If we can get even five percent of the pet buying public to see shelter dogs differently, to see how beautiful they are and how wonderful they are, and to consider shelter dogs as their first choice for a new family member, we can end the suffering of homeless pets in this country.
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