There is much sadness hanging over Jelly’s foster home this week. The silly, sweet girl with the cutest face ever, lost her battle to heartworm disease.

Jelly was in her second week of adult heartworm treatment and foster mom was doing all the right things. Although it was difficult, Jelly was kept calm and away from the other dogs as treatment dictated that she could not get excited. Sadly, sometimes this is not enough. Jelly collapsed in her foster mom’s arms in cardiac arrest, and even after being rushed to the ER and having CPR performed there was nothing to be done for her.

Here are some touching words from Jelly’s bereaved foster mom: “I knew she was special when she ended up sleeping in my bed after just one week. She had the cutest face. She almost looked like she had an English Bulldog face but huge Frenchie ears. She was so incredibly sweet and oh, how she loved me, and I loved her. My husband and kids would say that she wouldn’t listen or even go to the bathroom for anyone but me.

“When we first got her, she had obviously been an outside dog who had several litters. She didn’t even really know what attention was until she came here. Once she figured out what that was, she was a real snuggle bunny. She found out what toys were and really became part of the pack here at my house.

“She taught me so much about giving and just how grateful these rescue dogs are that we can give them a second chance. I know in my heart that I gave her the best six months of her life and she really had a family for this first time. Oh, how I miss that sweet girl.”

Heartworm disease is so very serious and much easier to prevent than to treat. In honor of Jelly’s memory, please make an appointment to take your dog in for a yearly heartworm test and maintain them on monthly prophylaxis.