Although we hear about heartworm as something that affects dogs it can also affect cats and other animals.
So what is heartworm?
Heartworm is a parasitic roundworm that attacks the heart. The way that it is transmitted is through the mosquito. So if you live in an area that has mosquitoes then your pet is at risk. In other words this is a world-wide disease.
You may have seen what an infected heart looks like. The vet’s where we take our pets have a picture of an infected heart. It is not a pretty sight. It looks like a heart jam-packed with spaghetti. The worms circulate around doing damage to other organs also such as the lungs. You know what a blocked artery to our hearts can do – Imagine your heart jam-packed with spaghetti!
The heartworm is slow in doing long term damage to the heart and other organs. Some possible signs of infection are coughing, fatigue, trouble breathing, weakness and loss of appetite. However if these signs are present then your dog has probably had heartworm for quite some time.
Although heartworm is treatable the best fight against heartworm is prevention. Before you can start your dog on any preventive program they must be tested to make sure they do not already have the disease. This is done by your vet testing their blood. Once your pet tests negative they may start on the preventive medication. We give our dogs medication once a month from June to November. However if we happen to have very warm weather in May and the mosquitos are out then we start the medication in May and end it still in November thereby giving them an extra month of protection.
Many pet owners do not bother with the heartworm medicine falsely believing there pet won’t get it. Others feel it is too expensive. To have the test done and get the medication costs you less than a cup of coffee a day.
Years ago we had a bordercollie/lab cross. She was on the heartworm medicine and the following year when she was tested for the next season she came back positive. This is very unusual. We were lucky that she was treatable. The suppliers of the heartworm medication paid for her treatment since they offered a guarantee. The treatment at the vet’s was the easy part. When the worms inside her heart start to die they are flushed out of the heart and into the lungs where they lodge in small blood vessels. Now comes the hardest part. Keeping your dog quiet and calm for the next six weeks. Why? Well if your dog gets excited or is running around her heartbeat will increase which will cause the heart to push out more of the worms then the arteries can handle. If the artery gets blocked it could result in your dog’s death.
We had to crate our dog for the summer which is not easy to do when your dog is normally a very energetic dog. I still remember the day that she finally got out of the crate and went for her first walk in many weeks. She was one happy doggie.
We considered ourselves very lucky that we were able to treat our dog just with the treatment. Some cases of heartworm are much more severe. Before they can even start the treatment to kill the heartworm the dog may have to undergo surgery so the vet can remove as many of the heartworms as he can. Within two weeks after surgery the dog can then begin the treatment to kill off the rest of the heartworms.
Heartworm can be prevented. Have your dog tested yearly and don’t forget the medication.
Until next time
Maureen Brownell
