Thanks to a very rainy spring we can expect a banner year for mosquitoes if you haven't already seen some now. While mosquitoes themselves can be a nuisance what they can carry to your pet can be deadly.
Heartworms are a parasite carried by the mosquito. As a mosquito bites your pet the heartworm larvae are transferred into your pet's bloodstream. While in the bloodstream these larvae grow and reproduce. As the population of heartworms increases in the bloodstream the worms are carried in the blood to the heart. Once at the heart they begin to clog and the valves in the heart and weaken the heart muscle. When this happens your dog becomes lethargic and has difficulty breathing. If left unchecked your pet will eventually die when the heart can no longer pump.
So how do you protect your pet besides moving to a part of the country with no mosquitoes. Easy. Talk to your veterinarian about getting your pet started on a preventative. Protecting your pet from heartworms can be as easy as giving a pill once a month or an injection every six months.
The normal protocol for starting you pet on a heartworm preventative requires that you pet have a bloodtest before the preventative can be given. The test will check to see if your pet has already been exposed. Giving preventative to a pet that has already been exposed to heartworms can be deadly so the test is very important. If the test show your pet is free of heartworms you can start them on preventative right away.
Call your veterinarian and ask how you can protect your pet TODAY!
