Heartworm Prevention Month

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.

Like Us!

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.)

Fight Fleas with New Frontline Guarantee

Caring for the Pets You Love - June 2011

Frontline Plus Offers New Guarantee
Fleas are one of the most insidious pests involved in the human-animal bond.  An adult flea can lay 50 eggs a day, bite up to 400 times a day and live for 120 days.  The flea’s four stage life cycle includes – the pupae stage – that is impossible to kill.  In this stage it sits quietly - in your carpet, your cushions or your yard - until an appealing host “awakens” it to the adult stage.  This is how an area that seems clean can suddenly become infested when you or your pet enters the area.

Frontline Plus is our recommended product for controlling fleas and ticks because it has proven to be safe for pets and effective against fleas and ticks.  It kills fleas in three of the four life stages and kills more types of ticks (4) than any other product.

Now Frontline Plus is offering a Satisfaction Plus guarantee that the product will control fleas in 3 months.  If you purchase the product from your veterinarian and use according to directions for at least three months and you still have a flea problem, you will get a personal consultant to help you.  The consultant will even send Terminix to your home to treat the environment if needed.  The flea life cycle can make it hard for any product to control a true infestation, but now if regular use of Frontline Plus doesn’t break the cycle, you can get help without additional cost.

Choose Frontline Plus Savings

In June, you can choose 2 free doses or a free rabies vaccine when you purchase a 6 month supply of Frontline Plus.  This is a great choice to have and makes the per dose price competitive with less effective products.  Also, as part of our 25^th Anniversary celebration we will give away four $25 credits to clients that purchase Frontline Plus.

Story Time

Dr. Hutton’s daughters, Delaney and Makena, will host a “story time” of select animal stories on Wednesday, June 22 at 10:00 a.m.   The story time will include a snack, a tour and a presentation by Dr. Hutton on X-rays.  The story time is open to children of all ages.   6/22/2011 10:00 – 11:30 a.m.

Follow Us

You can keep up with all of the 25^th Anniversary activities by following us on Facebook (http://facebook.dj/allcreaturesonline)  or check out our blog (http://allcreaturesonline.blogspot.com/)

Do You TEXT? J

Would you be interested in receiving communications about your pet in a text?  This is a new feature in our electronic medical records.  We can send you appointment reminders or remind you when your pet is due for service.  We can also contact you after a surgery or other pet service or even let you know when your pet is ready to be picked up from grooming or boarding.  Any interest?  Please email us with your thoughts.  (mail@allcreaturesonline.net) Thank you.

Congratulations to the Winners

As part of our 25^th Anniversary celebration, we gave away Early Detection Tests and a $25 Visa Gift Card in May.  Lois Teed-Gillen, Paulette Klein, Pam Fox, and Linda Morrison all received a credit on their account for the Early Detection blood tests for their pets.  The $25 Visa Gift Card went to Ashley Wathen.

Celebrate With Us

Our 25^th Anniversary celebration continues in June.  We will give away another $25 Visa Gift Card so make sure to enter every time you visit our office.
More Info: http://www.allcreaturesonline.com/