Use caution when adopting dogs that come from down south. Often, they test negative for heartworm initially. Then the next time you have them checked they are positive because heartworm can lie dormant in the early stages and not show up on a test.

This happened to a friend of mine. Not the end of the world but it cost him about $2000 for the treatment otherwise the dog would have suffered and died.

He loved the dog and took care of him and kept him. This was about a decade ago.

I'm just saying... get pet insurance right away.