"WICKS FOR WELLNESS"

Annual candle fundraiser will raise money to help prevent and treat heartworms!

Heartworm, or Dirofilaria immitis, is a potentially dangerous parasitic worm spread by mosquitoes. Dogs are the most common hosts for heartworm, although it is also found in cats and other animals. It commonly lives in the right side of the heart as well as the lungs and the pulmonary arteries and can survive for about five years in a dog's heart and reach lengths of twelve inches. The disease may be advanced by the time an animal shows signs of infection. It is diagnosed mostly in three to eight-year-old dogs; but in some regions, dogs as young as one-year-old can be infected. 

Between now and November 23, 2009 you can purchase candles from a DFWLRRC volunteer at any of our public events, email your order request, or order online directly from Light the Wick.

Light the Wick is located in Denton, Texas just off the historic downtown square. At Light the Wick Candle Factory you will only find custom hand poured candles using the best quality wax, scents and decorative jars.

Candles ordered by November 23, 2009 will be ready for holiday delivery!

Light the Wick generously donates 35% of online sales to DFWLRRC. Our goal is to sell $7000 worth of candles in order to raise $3500 for our heartworm prevention and treatment. Please join us in helping with this worthy cause by purchasing candles, helping sell candles, or forwarding this information to your friends and family.

Prevention. Treatment. Prevention

DFWLRRC averages 35 Labs in our rescue program monthly (we currently have 32 - some months we have had as many as 50+ dogs in foster care)!

First car ride from the shelter - not the dog park - straight to the veterinarian - all Labs are spayed/neutered, vaccinated, receive a complete physical exam, fecal and heartworm test.

Heartworm negative?

Time to celebrate - this Lab will go to a foster home and receive a heartworm preventative pill each month - the average cost for preventative for each dog is $4.97 per month or $2,090.20 annually. This is not inclusive of months we must use revolution instead of iverheartmax which is almost $8.00 per dose.

The cost to mail heartworm preventative to our foster homes - $426.00 annually. This year we have reduced postage 50% by changing our methods of distribution. If our pilot goes well, we will reduce it by another 60%. That's money that goes back to the dogs.

Heartworm positive?

Sadly, roughly 30% of the dogs in our program fall under this category - that's annually close to 53 heartworm positive dogs. The average cost of heartworm treatment for DFWLRRC is $300 per dog - or $15,900 annually. Additionally, each heartworm positive dog receives three heartworm prevention pills, regardless if they are adopted before they are used (an additional $526.82 in heartworm preventative).

Of the 32 Labs currently living in foster homes, 12 have received or are receiving heartworm treatment --- that's a whopping 38% of our current dogs.

In summary

Heartworm Preventative - total average spent annually - $2617.02
Heartworm Treatment - total average spent annually - $15,900.00

DFWLRRC's adoption fee for an adult Lab is $250, so as you can imagine we are not covering our heartworm costs. The sale of candles will help raise money to cover these deficits, so we can help even more Labs get a new leash on life.