About Louisa

Tina and Rich were looking for a rescue dog and stumbled upon Save One Soul Animal Rescue League. After a quick glance, the couple found one special pup who stole their hearts from the get-go: Louisa. On January 29th, 2018, lucky Louisa found herself as an official pack member of this Warwick, RI family.

When the couple first met Louisa, she had a shaved area of fur on her back which they endearingly refer to as a “sunroof patch” and she was also a little timid and socially awkward. While these things didn’t deter this adoption, as they started to learn more they realized that these were side effects related to Louisa’s medical history.

You see, even though she showed no symptoms, Louisa was found during routine intake testing to be in the company of more than a million pets in the U.S. who have heartworm disease. This diagnosis, unfortunately, is a death sentence to many homeless dogs who find themselves without the financial and caregiving resources to provide them the necessary treatment. Though she had a long road ahead of her, luck was on Louisa’s side, though, as she found herself in the SOS rescue network.

Five months in care and over a thousand dollars in expenses later, Louisa was ready to travel north and be adopted, but she wasn’t out of the woods yet. While the The American Heartworm Society heartworm disease treatment protocol has a high success rate in dogs like Louisa, treatment cannot be officially confirmed until up to eight months after the last injection. This means that from the start of treatment to confirmed cure, heartworm treatment can take over 12 months!

Easing concerns about potential future retreatment costs, the founder of Save One Soul Animal Rescue League, Emma Dawley, assured the couple that if Louisa were to test positive for heartworm disease at her post-treatment recheck in six months, SOS would cover the full cost of retreatment at their vet in Coventry, RI. This is a commitment that SOS makes to all of our post-heartworm treatment dogs, so that adopters can feel confident about welcoming one of these pets into their home sooner rather than later.

Tina was eager to learn more about the treatment process and gain more knowledge on how the disease is contracted, and can be prevented. Soon thereafter, she found herself in a position where her coworkers’ kids’ dog tested positive for heartworm and she was able to help them learn more about heartworm disease, as well as empathize with the emotions.

“The more that people can become aware and stay in contact with their vet about any concerns is always important.”

Thankfully, like the vast majority of dogs who are properly treated, Louisa’s retest came back negative several months after adoption, and she was pronounced heartworm-free!

Today, Louisa is a thriving and happy-go-lucky pup who now also has a [SOS alum] brother named Oscar! The pair get along perfectly and the couple could not ask for a better duo of dogs to spoil daily…and give monthly heartworm preventative to. This happy foursome currently resides in Warwick, RI, and regularly visits SOS reTAIL!

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