A historic move for Memphis Animal Services for the first time the city-run shelter can offer a program to treat heartworm disease.
Thanks to a more than 61-thousand dollar grant the expensive treatment will be included in adoption fees.
Dogs are more than twice as likely to be euthanized for space, but MAS says it made the vulnerable population a priority and applied for several grants to make low-cost treatment possible.
“I found out he was heartworm positive and I knew I couldn’t afford to take him and they said they had a new program,” said Gloria Hays, who adopted a dog, “When you pick one that you really want and you can’t take them because you know they’re really sick and you can’t afford the payment it almost made me want to cry.”
MAS invited its first-ever adopted dogs to start the first step of their heartworm treatment Tuesday.
