April is being recognized as Heartworm Prevention Month.

This disease can harm dogs and cats whether they live indoors or outdoors. Preventing this serious disease is very simple. All it requires is a pill. But believe it or not many pet owners still do not give this monthly pill regularly. How does your pet get heartworms? It's all caused by a mosquito.  There is no other way a dog or cat can get heartworms. And there's no way to tell if a mosquito is infected. That's why prevention is so important. The bite of just one mosquito infected with the heartworm larvae will give your dog or cat heartworm disease. A single bite from a mosquito carrying the baby worms, or microfilaria, can cause this disease. A mosquito bite can happen as easily and quickly, as when you are out dog walking. It takes about seven months, once a dog or cat is bitten by an infected mosquito, for the larvae to mature into adult heartworms. They then lodge in the heart, lungs, and surrounding blood vessels and begin reproducing. If undiagnosed and untreated, heartworm disease is debilitating and ultimately fatal.  Treating your dog can get very expensive and usually takes 2-3 months. Cats, unlike dogs, cannot be treated for heartworm disease. They have to be medically supported for the two or three years it takes for the worm or worms in their heart and blood vessels to die. To prevent heartworms, it's very simple - get a prescription from your veterinarian in the right dosage with the right medication and give it to your pet monthly. But before you give any preventive medication to your pet, you need to be sure your veterinarian performs a quick and simple blood test to determine whether your pet is already infected. Even for pets that have consistently been on a preventive program, it is advisable to have them rechecked every year.  There are monthly pills, monthly topicals that you put on the skin, and there's also a six-month injectable product. The damage that's done to your dog or cat and the cost of the treatment is way more than the cost to prevent heartworm disease. A year's supply of heartworm medicine will cost about $35 to $80, depending on a pets weight. Giving heartworm medication to a heartworm positive dog can cause serious side effects. These include respiratory distress, shock and possibly death. Many heartworm medication products also prevent intestinal parasites, some additionally prevent fleas. Initially, there are no symptoms with Heartworm disease however, as more and more worms crowd the heart and lungs, most dogs and cats will develop a cough.

Please give your pet heartworm medicine. It's easy, affordable and can save their life!