News from The Animal Hospital LLP

Heartworm Testing & Prevention

The Animal Hospital

1250 Main Street

303-776-3454

Table of Contents

Microchipping

How heartworm is transmitted

Heartworm Testing

Heartworm Preventative

"Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole."

--Roger Caras

The Animal Hospital

1250 Main Street
Longmont, CO 80501

303-776-3454

Dr. Lynn Ferguson
Dr. Don Dreyer
Dr. Renee Nankervis
Dr. Linda Shoens
Dr. Lisa Tornes

Microchipping

Microchipping has been proven to save animal lives. It is a way to permanently identify your pet. A tiny anti-migration microchip is put just under the skin of your pet in the shoulder blade area. The Animal Hospital does the registration for you with HomeAgain so they have all of your contact information. It is important to keep this information up to date with HomeAgain should your pet get lost, this is the only link for reconnecting with their family. This chip is easily scanned to obtain your pets ID number at any shelter or veterinary clinic if your animal gets lost. Millions of pets are lost every year, 94% of animals who were lost but microchipped were reunited with their families. Springtime tends to be a time when more animals tend to wander. By having your pets spayed or neutered helps to eliminate this urge to wander. On a final note,
if your animal should happen to get lost microchipping helps to reunite them with you more quickly.

Heartworm Testing & Prevention

The Animal Hospital has adopted a new heartworm policy. The American Heartworm Society is recommending annual heartworm testing and year round heartworm preventative. These changes have come about due to fluctuating temperatures from climatic changes, and the influx of people and dogs from other areas. Infected mosquitoes are being found in Colorado year round.

How heartworm is transmitted

Heartworm is not transferred from dog to dog; the mosquito is needed as the intermediate host. Thirty known species of mosquitoes transmit heartworm and we have four of these species in the Longmont area. It is the female mosquito that becomes infected by biting a heartworm positive dog. Microfilaria, the larval stage of heartworm, takes 10-14 days to develop in the mosquito; the mosquito can then bite an uninfected dog and transmit the disease.

Heartworm Testing

Testing is recommended yearly for dogs that are 7 months and older. For the test we need a small amount of blood from your dog that takes just a few minutes to draw. Although preventative medications are usually quite effective, they are not 100%, don't let your dog be a statistic, test him annually. Due to the lifecycle of the heartworm a dog must be infected for about 6 months before testing will detect a positive heartworm. It is important to test yearly to detect and stop the disease before the heart and lungs have irreversible damage.

Heartworm Preventative

The heartworm preventatives we use are called Heartgard Plus and Interceptor and the medication is given every 30 days. It is possible for a dog to become infected by missing a dose of heartworm preventative. Forgetting to give the monthly dose at the regular interval every 30 days will allow the heartworm to develop and will not stop the progress of the disease. Dogs that are 8 weeks and older should be put on preventative year round. The dosage of heartworm preventative prescribed is based on your dog's weight.

Our heartworm preventative also aids in the prevention of several intestinal parasites that your dog may be exposed to. Children more than adults can be vulnerable to infection from intestinal parasites such as roundworms and hookworms, the same parasites your dog may have. By preventing these intestinal parasites in your dog with heartworm preventative every 30 days, your children are protected from accidentally contracting these parasites. 75% of all pediatricians see a case of roundworms in children every year.

Treatment for Heartworm Disease

Treatment for a heartworm positive dog is much more expensive than annual testing and year round preventative. Yearly testing leads to early detection that enables us to safely treat them and save their life.

Call us today at 303-776-3454 to schedule your dog's heartworm test and to pick up your dog's preventative.

For more information on heartworm disease visit the following website. http://www.heartwormsociety.org/