Heartworm and Parasite Prevention

Heartworm is a big deal. It is especially prevalent in our area because it is spread through mosquitos. We work hard to educate all dog owners about this deadly disease and how they can prevent it!

Heartworms will spend their entire lives inside a dog’s heart. However, they do not start to cause any problems until they are full grown. They can grow up to twelve inches long. which takes up quite a bit of space in a dog’s heart and lungs! They mostly live on the right side, causing lung disease and heart failure. If not treated, the disease is fatal.

Unfortunately, heartworms are hard to treat. Often the treatment is as bad as the disease. As the adult worms die, they travel through the dog’s system, causing all sorts of problems. It is very important to closely monitor all dogs who are being treated. Even worse, some dogs need more than one treatment to get rid of all of the heartworms.

The good thing about heartworm is that it is easily prevented. There is a chewable tablet that needs to be given every month. Most dogs love their chewable heartworm tablets, and they are easy to give.

The heartworm prevention also has the added benefit of deworming your pets for roundworms, hookworms, and other intestinal parasites. This is important for your dogs and your family. Parasites can be transmitted to people, making them very ill.

Nobody wants to go through losing their dog to something that easily could have been prevented. Heartworm is hard to treat, so keeping your dogs on heartworm prevention will save you and your family from the grief.