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Heartworm - Only in Midwest/East Coast? A friend of ours brought their big dog into the vet last week, and asked to get heartworm medication for her. The vet told her that heartworm is only in the Midwest and East Coast, and that we didn't need it up here in the Northwest (Seattle area). Has anyone ever heard of this? Vets can make good money selling meds, so it's not as if they have a reason to lie about this. I assume companies sell heartworm medication to other vet clinics and such just to make money. We have not asked our own vet about this yet. We use heartworm medication for Yoda, but if it's not necessary, then we definitely don't want to be giving it to him. |
I am personal friends with my vet . . . I photographed her only human son last year for his senior portraits as well as a family portrait. We grew pretty close during the weeks we spent together. Dawn told me that heartworms are a nuisance all over the US. Whereas at one time, it was just the warmer climates, they are now seeing cases countrywide. Continue searching for answers just in case . . . |
I read an article a while ago that said that all the US has heartworms but in certain climates you only have to give it during the season. Some warmer moist climates have them year round. Said that one lady was told not to worry about giving her dog medicine during the winter. The dog got heartworms and died. IMO, it's worth the $28 or so dollars every three months for the peace of mind. |
Six months of Interceptor heart worm meds for Carter was only $20. It is well worth it! Read up on the heartworm cycle and you'll see why it is best to give the medication year round. The meds actually work on the eggs that are not fertilized yet preventing infection when the mosquito bites the furbaby. (I think that is how the story goes) Heartworms is one of the leading killers amongst dogs in the US. Even with the widely available and affordable medication to prevent heartworms, there has not been a reduction in the deaths due to uneducated dog owners. Its really sad. Dawn showed us an infected heart in a jar and it is about the most gross thing in the world you could see. It is like angelhair pasta totally consuming the heart. |
I give Mojo heartgard from Merial. I checked on their website and has good information about the disease and the need of a prevention treatmennt. Heartworm disease has been found in all 50 states in the U.S. You can read about it at :http://us.merial.com/pet_owners/dogs/heartworm.asp They also have a map (at www.heartgard.us.merial.com) for the cases of heartworm diseases: http://heartgard.us.merial.com/pix/i...ce/map_usa.gif (the top ten states in ocurrences are marked in red) |
And I'm smack dab in the middle of it! So, of course, I keep all my animals on heartworm meds. Ticks are real bad in Alabama too, and we use the full round of meds to prevent against worms, ticks, fleas, heartworms, and some intestinal worms. Sentinel + a topical treatment for ticks and fleas in the summer months when we take them outdoors more. My vet does a heartworm check with every yearly, even if the pet has been on preventatives the full year. I can't chance not having Luca Dean on the full regimen and would probably do it wherever I lived. Bugs and worms just really creep me out. |
Ditto, lucynfred!! Although we will be in Colorado for quite a while and it's "blue" cold here, Toto will get her Sentinel on the 18th of every month just like clockwork!! The vet at Alameda was discussing this with us and she said they have very few cases in the Denver area but that Grand Junction [where we are] ... it is rampant!! I don't care where we are, Toto will get it!! ;) |
Such great posts above...I agree. My Interceptor is $20.00 for six months per dog. I use it as a preventitive. Both Schatzie and Annabelle take it year round. This is something I am just not wanting to take a chance on. It is worth every penny. I have seen pictures of heartworms take over a dogs heart, it is quite ugly to say the least. Id sure hate to lose my loved pet over something that I could have prevented, I would just never be able to forgive myself had they received such a thing... |
fasteddie - my vet told me something similar when I took Bentley in. He didn't make it a priority to get the heart worm medication. We put Bentley on it because we were taking him with us to the midwest and wanted to be safe. We'll probably keep giving it to him as it is combined with his flea and tick medication we give him monthly. |
i hate ticks........ my family and i used to go hiking up in the arroyo and camping.... well..... needless to say i have had several up close and personal experiences with ticks (still have a scar from one of them actually) they really creep me out too....... but ......... im more afraid of spiders, if i see a spider i RUN in teh other direction :p .... i have actually heard of a tick biting a smaller dog and making it paralyzed untill they found out what it was and took the tick off (it took a couple hours for the dog to recover completely), but those things are scary |
Thanks for all the replies! Weird some NW vets think this way. It's not a money issue at all to us, it's more about having to put any kind of drugs into a Yorkie, which we'd rather avoid if possible. But I think we'll continue to give him his heartworm medication, or perhaps cut down on it a bit in the wintertime... |
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