My name is Gina!

Meet Gina. She is 8 years old and weighs 6 lbs. Sadly, sweet Gina tested positive for heartworm disease. She is being fostered in Orlando, FL. Her adoption fee will be $325.
UPDATED BIO 07/26/2018: Gina is one of 25 dogs pulled in April, 2018 by a sister rescue group from a horrendous hoarding/backyard breeding situation. She is one of the 10 dogs that UYR was able to bring into our group. Sadly, 4 of the 10 dogs tested positive for heartworm disease and Sweet Gina was one of them.

Here’s what Gina had to say recently:

Hi again, Gina here. I have wonderful news to share - I've finished my heartworm treatment! Yeah for me! I'm not quite ready for adoption, though. For the next four weeks, I have to remain calm...no running, jumping or playing and no chasing lizards and squirrels. Darn!

In 4 weeks I will be re-tested to make sure those nasty heartworms have been killed. After that, I will have a dental cleaning and have several mammary tumors removed. My foster mom says I should be ready to go to my furever home sometime in September.

Since I have been with my foster mom, I have learned to do my business outside and to use a pee-pee-pad if I can't get outside. I'm doing really well, but sometimes I may have an accident. Oops! I'm trying really hard to get it right.

I've figured out what kind of furever home would be best for me – here’s my list so that anybody interested in sweet little me knows what I need:

- A home with a mom/dad who is retired or works from home. In other words, a home with at least one stay-at-home parent. I don’t like to be left alone for long periods of time.

- I would really like to have a doggie companion, who is close to my age or size. It could be a fur-brother or a fur-sister. I would also like for them to be sweet and calm, just like me.

- I would really love to have a fenced yard so I can run and chase squirrels and lizards.

- NO CHILDREN. Adults only. No exceptions will be made.

Note from Foster Mom and UYR: If you have been moved by Gina's story and her courage and resilience, please consider making a donation to UYR to cover vetting expenses and support our organization as we continue the long process of rehabilitating these precious little dogs. Heartworm Treatment is very expensive and will cost approximately $800-$1,000 per dog. Please consider a donation to help UYR continue to rescue and rehabilitate other dogs with heartworms.
UPDATED BIO 07/01/2018: Gina is one of 25 dogs pulled recently by a sister rescue group from a horrendous hoarding/backyard breeding situation. She is one of the 10 dogs that UYR was able to bring into our group. Sadly, 4 of the 10 dogs tested positive for heartworm disease and Sweet Gina was one of them.

Here’s what Gina had to say recently:

Hi, Gina here with an update.

If you have been following my journey, you know that earlier this month I needed emergency surgery. I was not cared for very well while in the hoarder’s home, and I got a nasty infection of my uterus and had to have surgery to save my life. I'm happy to say I've healed very well. Because of the surgery, I had to wait until I was all better to begin my heartworm treatment. Two weeks ago I received the first of three injections to get rid of these nasty heartworms. My dogtor said I tolerated the injection quite well. I think she was surprised that I did so well – and so am I!

Foster Mom says that I'm supposed to stay calm and not run around and jump while going through treatment. Hmph! Easier said than done. I feel so good after having my emergency surgery that it's very difficult for me to be calm – and quiet. I want to run, chase lizards and squirrels and play, but my Foster Mom has to remind me that I can't do these fun things until after the treatment is completed. All right.... I'll stay calm, but it's so hard to do. Just wait until I'm all better. You better watch out lizards and friends of lizards, I'm coming for you!

My last two injections will be done in about a month. Then a month after that, I'll be re-tested to see if those bad, bad heartworms are all gone. If all goes according to plan, I may be ready for my furever home in September. Keep your fingers crossed and say a prayer that things will continue to go well. Gina out.

UPDATED BIO 06/03/2018: Gina is one of 26 dogs pulled recently by a sister rescue group from a horrendous hoarding/backyard breeding situation. She is one of the 10 dogs that UYR was able to bring into our group.

Here’s what Gina had to say recently:

Hi all, Gina here again. Boy-oh-Boy, did I ever have a really bad week. I had to have emergency surgery this past Friday morning. The dogtor said I had something called Pyometra, and that it was bad. All I know is that I felt really really terrible. See, I had lots of beautiful babies in my former breeding situation, and that’s why this happened to me. I later found out that Pyometra means my uterus was full of pus and I could have died. I am a smart girlie so I googled Pyometra and here’s what it is: “Pyometra is defined as an infection in the uterus. Pyometra is considered a serious and life-threatening condition that must be treated quickly and aggressively. Pyometra is a secondary infection that occurs as a result of hormonal changes in the female's reproductive tract.” I’m so very happy that my foster mom took me in really quick to the vet or I could have died. What a terrible thought.

My foster mom was so worried about me. She was so relieved when the dogtor called her and said I was out of surgery and starting to wake up. My foster mom was so happy to see me when she picked me up Friday afternoon. She hasn't let me out of her sight since. I am so happy she loves me so much and takes such super great care of me.

I'm just starting to feel much better today. But, my unexpected surgery means that my heartworm treatment had to be pushed back a little. I'll start the treatment injections on June 21st. I'll tell ‘ya, I'm not happy about getting shots, but the sooner I get this done, the sooner I could be furever yours. If you have read all of this, it must mean that you may be a little bit interested in me. Who wouldn’t be? I mean, I’m really cute, right?

UPDATED BIO 04/22/2018: Gina is one of 26 dogs pulled recently by a sister rescue group from a horrendous hoarding/backyard breeding situation. She is one of the 10 dogs that UYR was able to bring into our group.

Here’s what Gina had to say recently:

Hi again, it's Gina. I'm settling into my new home with my foster mom and two fur-sisters. A very nice lady came to my foster mom's house and gave me a wonderful haircut. I feel so much better. She must have cut a half pound of hair off me – that was the first haircut I can ever remember having that felt so good and she was so gentle with me. I liked it.

I sure do look and feel so much better, but I'm still a very sick little girl. When the nice people at UYR rescued me and a lot of my friends from a terrible home in South Florida, nobody knew that 4 of us would be heartworm positive. I was sad to find out that I was one of the 4 that had heartworms. My foster mom took me to the vet the day after I was rescued and he told us the bad news. Not only that, the vet said I had hookworms and infections in my ears and eyes. I had to take some yukky medicine for the hookworms. I'm also getting eye drops and ear medicine every day.

Now about the heartworms. I have to take pills twice a day now that I have started my heartworm treatment. Foster mom said that after two months of swallowing those darned pills every day, then I will start getting shots! OUCH! She said that it will take four months for all this to happen. Yikes. It's not going to be fun, but I know I am in good hands with my foster mom and she'll make it all right. She is gentle with me and holds me and kisses me and tells me all the time how beautiful I am and what a good girl I am. I like that. I have never had gentle hands touch me before I was rescued. Catch ya later. Gina, out.

PLEASE NOTE the following special circumstances:

- Due to Gina’s small size, she cannot be adopted into a home with children; she needs an adult-only home. No exceptions will be made.

- Adoption applications are being accepted for Gina; however, please keep in mind that she has tested positive for heartworms. This means that Gina must endure 4-5 months of heartworm treatment before she can go into her forever home. UYR follows the recommended treatment provided by the American Heartworm Society. Heartworm Treatment is very expensive and will cost approximately $800-$1,000 per dog. Currently, 4 out of the 10 dogs taken in with Gina tested positive for heartworms. Please consider a donation to help UYR continue to rescue and rehabilitate other dogs with heartworms.

- Please be patient with our process in considering adoption applications for Gina as our primary interest is supporting her during her heartworm treatment. Once Gina has completed treatment, she will be altered and receive any additional vaccinations needed. Our primary goal at this time is getting this sweet girl healthy so that she can continue to enjoy a wonderful life in a loving, forever home.

- UYR is reaching out to our friends, supporters and generous donors in the hopes of raising the thousands of dollars it will cost our group to get Gina healthy, as well as the 9 other dogs from the same hoarding/backyard breeding situation. They not only need to have their vaccinations updated, be neutered or spayed and have extensive labs, but they also need to emotionally heal from years of neglect. For the ones that are HW+, they will soon begin treatment which will last 4-5 months. If you have been moved by Gina's story and her courage and resilience, please consider making a donation to UYR to cover vetting expenses and support our organization as we begin the long process of rehabilitating these precious little dogs.