CART
option before you add an item to your cart. Learn More
Maggie's Journey- The Dangerous Side Effects of Preventatives
Posted by Maya Perez on
Therese Furhman is a long time, experienced dog owner. She has used flea, tick, and heartworm preventatives with all of her dogs. Until she met Cleo and Maggie.
The Furhman family adopted momma, Cleo and eight week-old, Maggie from a local animal rescue. They did what any pet parent would do with two new dogs, they took them to the vet.
Like most veterinarians the Furhman's vet immediately started the dogs on Trifexis, a very common flea, tick, & heartworm preventative.
It was only a few hours after young Maggie had taken the preventative that Therese's husband noticed that Maggie was walking around very unsteady and wobbly. The Furhmans immediately sprang into action and called their veterinarian who recommended they switch to a different preventive, Simparica Trio.
After starting the Simparica Trio, Maggie started to experience seizures. Again, like any concerned pet parent the Furhmans contacted their vet. After Maggie's second seizure she was then started on Keppra, an anti-seizure medication.
Even after Maggie's seizures had begun the vet was still recommending a heartworm preventative, Sentinel. Almost immediately after taking Sentinel Maggie began to have another seizure. It was after that seizure that the Furhmans vowed to never give any of their pets preventatives again.
In the early stages of Maggie's healing journey she was still having seizures every 10 days like clock work. Her dosage of Keppra was upped to 250mg but still the seizures continued. After losing count with how many vet visits Maggie had over the last few months the Furhmans decided to take a more holistic approach.
It began with an acupuncturist coming to treat Maggie once a month along with a supplement regimen of Chinese herbs. Unfortunately the seizures still continued.
Finally Therese found our holistic veterinarian, Dr. Cathy Alinovi, and began working with her to get Maggie's health back on track.
They first evaluated her diet. Maggie and Cleo were both on Farmer's Dog. Dr. Cathy suggested All Provide gently cooked and HEAL from CBD Dog Health instead. After switching Maggie's diet the Furhmans immediately saw a change for the better. Maggie was now going 15 days without a seizure which was a drastic improvement from before!
With the improvements happening Therese switched Maggie to a completely raw diet. Her current diet now includes SmallBatch Blends in varying proteins, HEAL from CBD Dog Health, MCT Oil, a daily multivitamin, and only single ingredient treats.
Maggie is turning 3 in a couple months and is currently 20 days seizure free since starting her new diet and routine!
When I asked Therese what she is currently using for preventatives she said they are not using anything and both Cleo & Maggie are flea, tick, and heartworm free. Another change the Furhman's have made is in their lawn care. The company they were originally using was using RoundUp, an extremely toxic weed killer. They have since switched to an all natural, organic lawn care team for the health of their pups.
The one piece of advice Therese wanted to offer pet parents who are currently using or considering using preventatives is to read the warnings and side effects printed on the box.
Therese's story is the perfect example of why we at Aleyr do not recommend preventatives to pet parents.There are so many natural,healthy ways to treat your pets for pests, making preventatives obsolete.
Our staff works very closely with Dr. Cathy to make sure we are up to date on all of the ways we can implement a more natural and effective health plan for pets.Stop in store or give us a call to see how we can help you and your fur baby on their holistic journey.
We wanted to give a special thanks to Therese Furhman for letting us share Maggie's story. We greatly appreciate the time she took to answer all of our questions about Maggie.
