This Is Why We Prevent Heartworm.... As mentioned in a previous post, this week we accepted a dog from a rescue in the US with heartworm disease. Veras former owner is now in jail in Alabama (charges unrelated to animal abuse). When he wasnt in jail he called Vera the walking ATM because he bred her at every opportunity and sold the puppies to augment his income. She is also full of .22 calibre air-riffle pellets, so at some point was also used for entertainment as well. She is heartworm positive and has Class 1 disease, which is why shes here with us. As for canine heartworm, if you own a dog and live around here you need to keep reading this because you now have something to be very much concerned about (nothing to do directly with Vera). Treating heartworm is a bit of a nightmare. which is why we focus so much on prevention. It is extremely costly, takes 6 to 12 months and not only is the disease ultimately fatal if untreated, the treatment itself can lead to death. There is always some degree of permanent damage from the infection, although fortunately in Veras case her disease is not very advanced yet, so were hopeful about her recovery. So heres how this applies to you: A heartworm positive dog was recently diagnosed on Manitoulin Island. Weve been fearing this for years as the climate becomes warmer, Katrina dogs have been dispersed all over North America carrying these diseases and peoples compliance with even the most basic preventative care such as vaccination has been declining for a long time. In Northern Ontario, we also have a massive reservoir of wild and feral dogs in which to harbour and propagate this disease; wolves, coyotes and reserves where large numbers of poorly/uncared for domestic dogs run at large. The dog in question actually came from Wiki. It is highly unlikely that dog is the index case - surely there are more. While we dont normally focus on heartworm at this time of the year as it is a mosquito-borne disease, Veras case makes it timely for us to start warning folks. Well revisit this discussion in the spring to be sure as everyone should be prepared to put their dogs on prevention this spring or risk suffering some potentially horrific consequences down-the-road. I think it would be reasonable to assume that were going to start seeing major problems with this in the next few years. In the meantime as you can see were keeping Vera cosy and safe while she starts her treatment. Her days as a walking ATM are over forever!
Posted on: Sun, 14 Dec 2014 17:17:38 +0000
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