I'd ask the vet for advice. We don't have heartworm here in Washington, or at least not enough to treat our dogs. Vets I know here SAY that dogs should be on Heartgard but don't treat their own dogs with it, so neither do I and I've never seen them pressure people to go onto it. I think I have some here that I could mail to you if you need it, size large dog. I don't use it and got these as free samples. Hubby is a little slow sending stuff in the mail for me though.
So I'm no expert on that....maybe someone else on here is, but you are probably right to be concerned about heartworms.
So they are both male? That would be a relief! No puppies!
By the way, most strays that I have taken care of (about 50-75, never really counted) were in my care a very short time, not two and a half years. I only had two that I ever had trouble re-homing, that was Prince and my own dog that we KEPT, Bandit. We originally were going to find a home for Bandit but she ran away from every home except ours, so we kept getting her back, and then she got lymphoma, so no one wanted her. However, we are almost FIVE years since her lymphoma diagnosis and she looks great. So we have a pretty good average for finding the dogs homes. Of all those strays, only about five times did an owner appear, the rest of the dogs were all not claimed. And I never got a reward for any of the dogs I returned, the reward was always that the dog was okay. But I was surprised because if someone had kept and returned MY lost dog like that I would have been more grateful.
So it is sometimes better if no owner comes forward......and in your case I don't think they would.
And by the way, I don't really think I have a halo......only a DOG halo......It gets a little larger every dog you rescue something, so mine gets a little heavy sometimes. This is just the silly play on words I use to describe the phenomenon that a lot of rescuers find.....that dogs and cats are inexplicably drawn to those people who will help them and I am not the only one........most people who are fellow dog rescuers describe this same phenomenon. It gets even worse when a couple of us get together, and it tends to rub off on my friends, so be careful! You may be "catching" your dog halo from me.
Remember at the vet to say SEVERAL times in front of the staff this was NOT your plan.....That was what always made us dig through the free samples of wormer and fleas stuff and open up promotional packs meant for puppies and stuff the drug companies give to vets, vets and their staff HATE to see skinny mistreated dogs like that, starvation brings out the sympathy factor each and every time. Say things like "I'm not sure how I'll afford feeding two"and stuff like that. Every office I've worked at sold dog food and had bags sitting around half gone or sampled and some fussy dog didn't like it, your hungry strays will probably eat anything. And see if they know any local rescue groups besides the humane society. Good luck! I'm glad you liked Prince's story. I actually wrote that a long time ago, most of it before he was adopted, I just gave the story a new ending since years have passed. Trouble really missed Prince when he left and we went to visit him several times because of that, and because Prince liked to see us. I have a photo of him that I'll add when I get a chance to get on Hubby's computer and find it.