Heartworms!

April is Heartworm Awareness Month. 
With the abundance of effective heartworm preventives and tests, it's heartbreaking when we still have to diagnose a pet with a heartworm infection. Our location  is covered in heartworms. When we look at the parasite prevalence maps for Tipton county for 2013, which can be found on the companion animal parasite council's website, 1 out of every 18 dogs tested were found to be positive. At our clinic we find that over 90% of the patients NOT on heartworm prevention are positive. We feel strongly about educating our clients on this common and ever advancing problem. The good news is there are solutions!    LOOK BELOW WE ARE RED!!!!

Heartworms are transmitted through the bite of an infected mosquito. It takes 6 months from the time of infection till we can test for an adult female heartworm. Your pets may not show signs until late in the course of disease. That’s why we need to run regular tests! The American Heartworm society recommends yearly testing. If you missed a dose of heartworm prevention or your pet has not been on prevention then we may recommend a test 6 months from the current test to make sure we do not miss an active infection. If your pet has heartworms, signs include: being asymptomatic (meaning showing no signs), coughing, difficulty breathing, panting, exercise intolerance, decreased activity level, sudden death. So we always want to run tests and catch the disease before it’s too late!

 
So you may ask: Why do you test even though the patient is on preventatives? Even though today's preventive medications are effective, pets are only protected if we treat them without interruption. A late or missed dose can open the window for infection. Heartworm testing is the only way to ensure we catch infection early, when we still have options for treatment.

How do you test for Heartworms? Its very simple and painless. All it takes is 3 small drops of blood. Today's advanced heartworm tests are often able to detect the presence of just one female heartworm. Let’s test your pet today and make sure everything is negative!

What can we do about Heartworms? Heartworm disease is preventable. We have so many options for prevention. We want you to come in and ask us how you can keep your dog or cat from becoming a statistic. We will listen to you tell us about your pet's lifestyle and evaluate your patients health.   Then we will decide with you which medication is best suited for your pet.  There is often a Myth that  only outdoor pets are at risk of contracting heartworm disease. This is very false we diagnose patients all the time who are indoor only pets-(You know those pesky mosquitoes can fly into the house.) A heartworm infection can be difficult and expensive to treat in dogs, and there’s no approved treatment for cats. Good thing it’s easy to prevent! 

Please come see us about heartworms!! We would love to talk to you about the different preventions and  keeping your pet healthy and heartworm free!