PREVENTATIVE CARE

Heartworm disease is a serious and potentially fatal disease transmitted by mosquitos from pet to pet in the United States and many other parts of the world. It is caused by foot-long worms (heartworms) that live in the heart, lungs and associated blood vessels of affected pets, causing severe lung disease, heart failure and damage to other organs in the body. Heartworm disease affects dogs, cats and ferrets, but heartworms also live in other mammal species, including wolves, coyotes, foxes, sea lions and—in rare instances—humans. Because wild species such as foxes and coyotes live in proximity to many urban areas, they are considered important carriers of the disease. 

 Anywhere in the country it is possible to come in contact with fleas, ticks, and other dangerous vectors to infect you pets.  They do not discriminate between city or rual areas... and a fence will not keep them out.  It only takes one bite to potentially spread disease.  When it comes to protecting your pets there is a wide variety of medications available to apply to your animal with a wide variety of cost.  We try to help guide you in the differences and effectiveness/safety concerns of each product.  (Not all preventions are created equal).  Please ask your Veterinarian prior to applying medication to reduce any possible negative side effects. 

 Intestinal parasites can infect the gastrointestinal tract of dogs, cats and even humans. The can live in various places in the body but are usually found in the intestinal wall. Several types of parasites, like Roundworms, are considered zoonotic, meaning they can be spread from animals to humans. The route they are usually spread is via fecal oral contamination which is why we recommend washing your hands following cleaning up after your pet. 

Routine fecal exams should be performed on your pet's feces on a yearly basis to check for parasites. The example above is a picture of 3 parasite eggs and what they look like under the microscope. 

  If your pet stays on a monthly heartworm and intestinal parasite prevention their risk for contracting intestinal parasites will decrease.  Unfortunately there is not one prevention that covers all intestinal parasites and is why yearly screenings are of utmost importance.