Erica Miller, DVM with Apple Lane Animal Hospital is cautioning dog owners to continue to provide preventative care for heartworm disease.
“Last time we were in, we talked about, we’ve had three cases so far,” Miller said. “We’ve had another one since we were in last time. That’s only been two months ago. Mosquitoes are out. I get, a lot of the time, well, you know, my dog is inside the majority of the time. They only go out to go potty. I always say, you know, when we go outside, for me, it’s if I just go out to the garden or if I just walk out with my pets, the mosquitoes are on me. If they are on you, they are on your pets. They should be on that yearly heartworm preventative to protect them.”
It’s a real problem if the infection is allowed to grow.
“When a mosquito bites that is infected with heartworms, when they bite your pet,” Miller said. “Essentially, when they go to take a blood meal, some of those worns can wiggle down and go into the bloodstream. Once they are there, they swim around and then they make it to the heart. Once they make it to the heart, that’s where they turn into adults and they start reproducing. As they turn into adults, they get big and long, like spaghetti noodle size. The problem with that is, they are causing damage to the heart. Once the heart gets full of heartworms, they spill over into the lungs. Then we’re causing damage to the lungs.”
Heartworms can produce baby worms for up to seven years in a dog if left untreated.
“We can treat heartworms and we can get rid of them,” Miller said. “It’s more expensive than prevention, but the damage they have already caused to the heart and lungs, there’s no fixing that.”
If you suspect your pet is sick, call your vet immediately. For health-related questions, always consult your veterinarian.
As reported on Hutch Post.
