False positive

This is one of her better
profile pics to date.

Wednesday morning outside the
SPCA in Charlottesville prior
to her heartworm treatment.

Wednesday was the day scheduled for Daisy's first heartworm treatment. I had considered putting it off a week because she was just beginning to get comfortable around here. Having never lived indoors, she was hesitant about coming through the door into the house. She was shy about me reaching for her so I let her drag a leash around for the couple days. I would have liked to wait until she trusted me a bit more before taking her back to a strange environment, but on the other hand, the sooner we got the treatment started, the sooner she'd be on the road to recovery and adoption. So I took her in Wednesday morning and dropped her off. She was a bit scared, but she was better with me at this point and she was friendly enough to everyone we encountered. I did leave the leash with her and suggested that they leave it on her just to make handling her less traumatic for her. 

She was friendly with everyone we met,
but still a bit reserved.

She seemed less fearful and
withdrawn today.

It wasn't raining today but it was cloudy, cool, and quite wet from yesterday's rain. With a trip to town in the morning with Daisy and another in the afternoon to pick her up, I knew this would be another non-hiking day, so Maya went along in the van just for the drive. I got started on my work day and later discovered that I had missed a call and had a voice mail. It was from the SPCA vet's office telling me that I could pick up Daisy any time. They had repeated the heartworm test prior to treatment and it was negative. The first test (from a shelter somewhere in NC) must have given a false positive, or they mixed up her test with one from another dog. 

I think she was happy to see me when
I picked her up. She wasn't exactly
overjoyed, but at least I was a
familiar face and scent.

She definitely seemed happier
when we got back home. She
seems to like Clay; she comes to
him better than to me.

It was good news for Daisy. Not only did she not have to endure the heartworm treatment, but this also means I can start looking for a home for her right away. The test was negative for the tick-borne diseases as well, which is nothing short of miraculous. I might take her in to my vet for a third test just to be sure, but the next thing on Daisy's agenda is a much needed bath. I can work her into the hiking rotation too, which would be good for her. I'm guessing she's about Trooper's speed.