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My Story
First I want to say that I am not an affiliate of this product. I don’t make any money off it. I believe in it because it saved my senior rescue & is a great natural alternative to the toxic conventional treatment.
This past year I received a phone call from the German Shepherd Rescue where I rescued my German Shepherd Gabe. He was 2 at the time we got him & now he is almost 10. He had heartworms when we got him & treated it with the traditional veterinarian protocol. I didn’t know any better at the time. He’s 10 now & doing great. I have stopped giving him vaccinations now that I have educated myself.
My Sweet Boy Gabe (10 years old)
The Rescue told me that the Shelter in the county I lived in had received a Senior German Shepherd & I was the only one they knew in the area that had a German Shepherd. They said her family of 10 years didn’t want her anymore & she was in pretty bad shape & would I be willing to foster immediately?
Of Course, I said Yes! Poor Baby. So I get my daughter & off we go to the shelter. They told me she was about 10 years old at the time & in pretty bad shape. So when I received the call I didn’t hesitate! My husband thought I was crazy! This poor girl had severe heartworms, hookworms & severe arthritis in her back hips & legs, & pads on her elbows (which looked like tumors to me) from laying on concrete.
She had never lived inside a home & looked like she had never had a bath. Her nails had never been trimmed & only weighed 48 lbs.
The tips of her ears had been eaten off by flies (as far as we know or maybe frostbite).
They told us her name was Blackie. My daughter took one look at her & said “she doesn’t look like a Blackie mom, let’s call her Jackie!” I agreed totally. It sounded very similar & she responded to it very well.
“What were you thinking?”
When my husband got home he said: “What were you thinking Renee’? She doesn’t look like she will make it through the week. Are you sure you want to do this?” Well, to be honest, I had no clue, but I knew I wasn’t going to leave her there. I immediately started her on an organic diet & started giving her a mixture of Turmeric, Coconut Oil. black pepper & honey daily for her arthritis.
I had never fostered before, but I was going to give it a try! We didn’t need 2 big dogs. Gabe still acts like a puppy! He wasn’t sure at first but fell in love with her almost immediately just like we did.
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Veterinarian Visit
The rescue sent me to their veterinarian for evaluation. They didn’t give me any paperwork so I had no idea what kind of treatment they had done. I talked to the rescue & they said she had been treated for hookworms & had been put on an antibiotic & were treating her with Heartguard. Since I was fostering, which I had never done before, I didn’t get a choice. I did reach out to the rescue because I had been doing research on natural treatments. I was told they didn’t believe in natural treatments (seriously?) & I would need to adopt her in order to go against “standard protocol”. I said “absolutely! Send me the papers.” Since I had adopted before it was a very simple process.
As soon as all the paperwork was done I took her to my vet. They wanted to put her on heartworm medicine too. I asked a lot of questions only to find out that the traditional treatment doesn’t actually kill the heartworms, it only prevents new ones from hatching. I couldn’t believe it. The Vet told me they just had to live out their lifespan. I asked, “How long is that?” She said that the lifespan of the heartworms was about 2 years. This sweet girl didn’t have 2 years. So I took my sweet girl & left.
Natural Treatment
So I started researching natural treatments. I found a company that sells a treatment/preventative. It used to be called “Heart Worm Free” but with all the FDA regulations they had to stop calling it that so they changed the name to HWF. I read all the reviews & I was convinced this was the way to go.
I started treating her with HWF as soon as it had been long enough to get the Heartguard out of her system. At 16 weeks I had her tested & she was still positive so I continued the treatment for another 3 mo. I had her testes around the 27-28 week mark. She tested negative. She is now heartworm free.
I can’t tell you how excited I was to hear this! My husband “high fived” me & said he was very skeptical & didn’t think it would work. Once again I proved to him that a Natural Alternative is always better if there is one! Now he brags to all his friends!
Look at that Sweet Girl! (1 year later)
HWF (Formerly Heartworm Free)
This treatment isn’t cheap (but neither is the conventional treatment) & does require giving 2 does a day for 16-36 weeks. But it is totally worth it! I wish I had known about it when I rescued my other German Shepherd. This same product can also be used as a preventative at a much lower dose, 7 days on & 7 days off throughout mosquito season. This is the protocol that I will be using from now on!
I am not an affiliate of HWF. I do not make any money from them. I just wanted to share my experience with you so that you know that there is a natural alternative to the dangerous traditional heartworm meds.
Here is the link to the product at Dogs Naturally Magazine so that you can research for yourself. Scroll to the bottom & read all the reviews and make an informed decision.
Product Information (from their website)
HeartWorm Free™
“HWF is a natural, effective, organic herbal remedy designed to help your canine family member overcome canine heartworm disease. HWF may support the heart by cleaning the cardiovascular system from unwanted foreign substances. HeartWorm Free™ is also an excellent effective natural heartworm preventative.
contains Organic Herbal ingredients. HWFwas studied for 4 years for use as a heartworm preventative with 100% success, prior to being retailed as a heartworm preventative. HWF is an excellent effective natural heartworm preventative.
HWF is a natural organic herbal treatment that helps your canine fight heartworm aka dirofilariasis imminitis. All-natural HWF is useful for heartworm positive dogs. This natural HWF will help kill the heartworms slowly over a period of time allowing your dog’s immune system to help eliminate the heartworm from its body. Because HWF works slowly your dog does not need to be confined to a crate, as required by traditional heartworm treatment. However, they do need restricted activities. Dogs cannot run, breed, or do anything to increase their heart rate. Dogs with heartworms can go for a short 5-10 minute walk daily on a leash. If the dog owner cannot commit to the restricted activities then its best to keep the dog in its crate. Within weeks, you may notice an increase in energy and a decrease in symptoms such as coughing and weakness and a healthier coat.
HWF is made without Wormwood and Black Walnut. Wormwood has been known to depress the central nervous system and can cause mind-altering changes leading to psychosis when used over long periods of time (usually months). Black Walnut was found to be a high allergen causing hives and other types of allergies. With this information, Amber Naturalz (formerly Amber Technology) developed HWF that (in the long run) may be more beneficial to your dog.”
Cuteness Overload (1 Year Later)
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MUST-READ: (from HWF’s website)
“Killing heartworms can be dangerous for your dog. Dead worms can clog small blood vessels causing organs to fail making it imperative that your animal be confined to a small space to try and prevent this from happening. Older, sick, or pregnant animals may not be able to tolerate traditional veterinary treatment and some dogs are simply sent home to die without care, as the traditional heartworm medications would kill the dog. This is why the HWF was created. HWF’s slow method of heartworm treatment has its benefits, which allows the dog to recover slowly. HWF works well for all dogs, young, elderly, and is safe enough to give to pregnant dogs. Note: If your canine is pregnant, during pregnancy give half doses of HWF; after giving birth they can be given full dose.
Keep in mind you are working with heartworms. The heart is a vital organ. Whether you use choose to use traditional heartworm treatment or natural heartworm treatment for your dog, there are risks. Anytime you work with the heart you take a risk. The heartworms can dislodge and go anywhere in the system. The heart can become weakened from the heartworms. Heartworms can get up to 3 feet long. If a dog is harboring a 3-foot long heartworm the time to rid the body of heartworms can be 36 weeks or longer. The severity of the heartworm infestation and condition of the heart will determine the results with the HWF treatment. Amber Tech does NOT guarantee the health of your dog, due to conditions out of Amber Tech’s control.”
ref: https://www.alternativeanimal.com/hwfformerly-heartworm-free/
ref: https://market.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/collections/heartworm-protection/products/hwf
ref: https://heartwormfree.com/