Tess had only adopted Taco two months before when she spotted a strange red bump on his nose that she knew hadn't been there before.
Abscess or wasp sting?
Her first thought was that it was a small abscess or maybe a wasp sting, and she tried to squeeze it. But that didn't do anything. So, Tess' next step was to grab a pair of tweezers and see if anything was inside the spot causing the swelling.
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Tess did manage to grab onto something inside the spot, and to her immense surprise, she began pulling out what looked like 4 cm of white string. But Tess would soon learn that it wasn't string but a living creature.
String-like creature
When she adopted Taco, Tess learned he was heartworm positive. So when she showed the strange string-like object to the vets at her clinic, they confirmed her suspicions. The white thing was a heartworm trying to work its way out of Taco's nose. Poor Taco! We hope he makes a speedy recovery!