May is Heartworm Prevention Month All Creatures Veterinary Center 972-307-7400
A Mild Winter
Means More Pests for Your Pet
The very mild winter we had here in north Texas means
we can all expect lots of bugs this spring and summer. One bug, the mosquito, is expected to be
abundant and this is potentially very bad for your pet. Mosquitoes spread heartworm disease, a
parasite infection that permanently debilitates or kills thousand of pets every
year. And it only takes one infected
mosquito bite to cause this disease. An
estimated one million dogs will be heartworm positive in the
United States this year.
How
do mosquitoes spread heartworms?
Heartworms cannot be spread directly from
animal to animal without a mosquito as an intermediary. A mosquito bites an
infected dog and ingests tiny heartworm larvae along with the animal’s blood.
Other carriers of heartworm disease
include wolves, foxes, ferrets, coyotes and raccoons. Inside the mosquito,
these larvae develop into their infective stage. When the same mosquito bites another dog, the
larvae infect the healthy animal. Without a monthly dose of preventive, the
larvae continue to develop inside the dog, eventually reaching the heart and
lungs. The larvae mature into adults, which can be a foot in length, and
produce microfilariae that circulate in the bloodstream. Now this dog is a
reservoir of heartworms and is ready for another mosquito to bite and infect yet
another dog.
Luckily heartworm disease is preventable and the
prevention is cheap and easy when compared to the lengthy, stressful and
expensive treatment. Treatment can cost over
$1,000 which makes giving a monthly preventive a bargain in comparison. Treatment requires painful, arsenic-based
injections to kill the heartworms present inside the lungs and heart. In
addition, this is followed by a 1-3 month period of limited physical activity
and possible health complications. Surgery may be required for dogs burdened
with large amounts of worms. It is much easier to prevent heartworms than to
treat them.
What are the
symptoms of heartworm disease?
*Dull coat *Lack of energy *Coughing *Difficulty breathing
The good news is,
you
can protect your pet from heartworm disease with a monthly preventative like
Heartgard Plus. (Other products we
recommend at All Creatures are dual purpose products like Revolution and
Trifexis)
How
does HEARTGARD Plus work?
HEARTGARD Plus
not only prevents heartworm disease but also treats and controls the most
common intestinal parasites, hookworms and roundworms. It contains 2
medications: ivermectin and pyrantel pamoate.
Ivermectin prevents heartworm disease by killing heartworm larvae that
have infected your dog during the previous 30 days. By killing the larvae,
HEARTGARD Plus stops larvae from developing into juvenile and adult heartworms,
thereby preventing the disease. The low
dose of ivermectin is metabolized and excreted rapidly, so it kills heartworm
larvae present today but does not have an effect on larvae introduced tomorrow. That is why it is recommended to administer a
regular monthly dose to your dog . The use of
HEARTGARD Plus every month may help to reduce the burden of roundworm eggs and
hookworm larvae in the environment, and thereby reduce the risk of reinfection.
HEARTGARD Plus is the only FDA-approved heartworm preventive that comes in a
real beef chew.
HEARTGARD PURCHASE BONUS
The doctors and staff All Creatures have already seen a higher
than normal number of pets infested with fleas this year - a result of the mild
winter. To promote the use a heartworm
preventative with a flea preventative, All Creatures is giving a free dose of
Frontline Plus when you purchase 12 months of Heartgard protection.
(Heartgard given monthly with Frontline Plus, provides
the most protection for your dog against worms, fleas and other parasites. For
cats, All Creatures recommends Revolution as the most effective and
broadest spectrum of protection.)
Like Us!
No comments:
Post a Comment