HEART WORM MONTH
I know that you feel bombarded by Veterinary staff bringing up Heart worm and the preventatives, so I thought I would elaborate on why we are so concerned about this disease and why we push preventatives for your pet's health.
Heart worm is a deadly disease, and it is in our area. We have had a positive case here in Windom already this year. That means that the mosquitoes are out there are they are carrying the deadly larva of the heart worm.
Here is a map Showing that Heart worms, and Lyme are in our area. And the cases are rising.
So, we know it's here and that it can effect your pet. Why the year round preventatives? Why the yearly testing?
Our number one concern is the health of your pet. Heart worm preventatives work backwards, Here is a video that will inform you further on Heart worm as a disease.
Now that we know more about how the disease is spread let's talk about the preventatives and why we are testing.
Testing is done yearly due to the fact that it is Very hard to make sure that your pet has been given the preventative once every 30 days, and if you miss even a day or two you could be missing larvae. All puppies should be checked at 7-8 months of age to make sure they didn't pick it up while young and with Mom, and then once a year to verify that they are not carriers/infected.
Preventatives come in all forms, Monthly chews, 6 and 12 month injections and now Zoetis has come out with a chewy treat that has Heart worm/flea and tick all in one simple chew.
The big thing to remember is to get your preventatives from a place that you know and trust. Labels like Heartgard and Interceptor ARE being reproduced and inferior product is being sold in these reproduced packaging. Make sure that your pet is getting something that works.
We are here for you, if you have a product that you prefer, let us know so that we can help you get what you want and need for your pet's health.