The Life of Megan Sue the Flying Witch (Part 1)

Megan was my first Scottie dog. It was love at first sight! I drove one and half hours to a rural part of Ohio to meet her. She and her brother were living on a farm with a nice woman. The little female pup ran up to me and gave me so many kisses, while her brother circled the woman and barked at me. He was not so thrilled to meet me. Needless to say, the eight month-old brindle Scottish Terrier, soon to be named Megan Sue the Flying Witch, came home with me. She lived up to her name as you will learn later.

Megan and I met with the vet the next morning and she was given a clean bill of health. We were on our way to begin our new life together side by side. Our bond was so tight I would rock her and sing "You Are My Sunshine" to her every day. She was a real fashionista and love to get dressed up. She wore dresses, sweaters, pajamas, t-shirts, and a rain coat. Her leashes and collars always matched. During holidays she had special outfits and in the summer she would wear her favorite visors. She knew she was special and people would fuss over her choice of fashion.

It was time for her to get her one-year check-up with our favorite vet. The visit went well. Two days later, the vet called me to tell me Megan had heartworms. Heartworms what the heck is that? I had never heard of heartworms. Now mind you, this was nearly 35 years ago. I dropped the phone and fell to my knees in hysterics. I couldn't lose my baby. Dr. Leed said he would do everything possible to save her. "What do you mean save her?" He would need to do a week-long arsenic drip at the hospital. She had a very slim chance of surviving the treatment.

Why wasn't this detected before? My baby Scottie had been bitten by a carrier mosquito. The Dr. wanted to wait until Spring to start her on heartworm preventative. In Ohio, at that time, they only used heartworm medicine in the Spring - Fall months. I am sure in this day and age, it is given year round now.

Needless to say, it was brutal being away from her. A lot of sleepless nights and anxiety driven days waiting for her morning and evening updates. The vet tech stayed with her at night, keeping a close watch over her.

Finally, after 10 days in the hospital, I got the call she was ready to be released. What a relief! My baby Scottie was coming home. Unfortunately, the first night home she began to have difficulty breathing. I had to rush her to the Emergency Vet where she would stay until she could be transferred back to Dr. Leed's office the next morning. She had been through so much and come so far. I couldn't bear to lose her now.

Dr. Leed took her back in for another week. She survived! The next couple months were spent carrying her up and down the steps and trying to keep her quiet. It was easy to do. Megan Sue was not what I would call a typical Scottish Terrier. She was not a rambunctious type. She survived! Megan was the first dog that Dr. Leed was able to save from the horrible disease of heartworm. Thank goodness he didn't tell me that until she was safe and healthy. Every time she would go for her wellness checks, he would take her out to the waiting room and tell everyone she was the first dog he treated for heartworm that survived. He was so happy and proud. Me too!