Heartworm Disease in Dogs
Unlike many other health issues that face dogs, heartworms can kill your pet dog.
These worms actually live in the arteries of a dog's lungs and sometimes in the right side of his heart. Dogs - as well as cats - are susceptible to infection when bitten by an infected mosquito. Heartworm disease has been found in all 50 states. Below, if you take a look at a map from the American Heartworm Society's webpage (www.heartwormsociety.org) you will see that heartworm disease is particularly prevalent in our part of the country.
When a mosquito bites an infected animal, it ingests baby heartworms (microfilariae). Later, when the then-infected mosquito bites a dog, the microfilariae enter the dog through the wound caused by the mosquito. The microfilariae grow into adult worms who then produce microfilariae in turn... and so the cycle continues when a mosquito bites this new dog and ingests microfilariae. Heartworms may live for up to SEVEN years and grow to be 10 inches long.
A newly infected dog may show no clinical signs of infestation at first, because it takes awhile for the number of heartworms in an animal to accumulate. Infected dogs may eventually show signs such as a mild but persistent cough, lethargy, being tired after only moderate exercise / not wanting to move or exercise, weight loss and loss of or reduced appetite.
 A veterinarian can detect heartworm disease through a simple bloodtest. Dog owners should keep their pets on preventative medications. Although treatment for heartworms in dogs is possible, it is is both complicated and expensive. It is safer, easier and less expensive for dog owners to take measures by keeping their pets on medications that prevent heartworm disease in the first place. The photo to the left shows a heartworm infestation in a dog's heart.
Heartworm disease preventative medications may be administered via monthly or daily tablets / chewables or monthly topical agents. There is also a six-month injection available for dogs that prevents heartworm infestation. Each of these methods is very effective, and make it possible to completely prevent your dog from ever getting heartworm disease when taken properly and as scheduled. These medications work by interrupting the life cycle of microfilariae injected into a dog's system by an infected mosquito -- killing them before they ever become adults. These medications do NOT kill adult heartworms, which is part of why a dog should be tested for heartworms before beginning to take heartworm preventatives. Virtually 100 % of dogs bitten by an infected mosquito become infected with heartworms. Those on heartworm preventative are safe, because the medication kills the microfilariae before they grow to adulthood.
Every BTTR dog has been tested for heartworm unless we acquired it at less than three months of age and has been placed on heartworm preventative by us while in our care. Our heartworm positive dogs are treated for the condition while in foster care. A heartworm positive dog is adoptable during the course of treatment (through a sort of "foster to adopt" program) if and only if we are comfortable that the foster to adopt family can and will adhere to the requirements for managing the dog's treatment.
Make no mistake -- the treatment of heartworm disease is hard on a dog -- it is possible that the treatment will kill the dog. DO NOT put your pet through this -- prevention is much better than curing the disease. If you think heartworm preventatives are expensive, just compare the cost to that of heartworm treatment -- preventative measures are much less expensive. Do not take the dog off preventative medications in the winter months as we do see temperate days even during the winter season, during which mosquitos are out and about. It only takes one bite from an infected mosquito.
Take care of your dog. He or she is depending on you.
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