HEARTWORM

With spring here and summer right around the corner, mosquitos will soon follow.  Along with mosquitos, comes heartworm disease.

Heartworm disease is transmitted from dog to dog by mosquitos. The mosquitos bite, infecting a dog with baby heartworms.  Within 6 months, those young heartworms mature into adults and live in the chambers of the dog’s heart. These adults then begin to reproduce and send more baby heartworms into the bloodstream to be picked up by the next hungry mosquito.

Heartworm is a disease that can be easily prevented. Have your dog tested every spring to be sure that he/she did not pick up the disease the previous fall. The heartworm test requires testing of 2cc of blood from your dog. If the test is negative, your dog can begin a monthly preventative. The medication is given 30 days after seeing the first mosquito until the first hard frost.