Protect Your Pet

For many pet owners, heartworm disease is a phrase they’ve long dreaded because they understand it can be potentially fatal to their furry friend.  However, they may not understand that it’s a disease which is easily preventable through annual testing and monthly preventative.

With April marketing National Heartworm Awareness Month, it’s the perfect time to ensure you’re better informed on this important topic for pet owners. We have partnered with Merialcompany to provide a free heartworm test with the purchase of a 12-month supply of Heartgard or ½ price on the heartworm test alone.  Your pet must also have an exam with one of our veterinarians as heartworm prevention is a prescription product.  Call 407-351-7722 to schedule your appointment at one of our clinics in Orlando or Sanford.

heartworm3Heartworm disease is spread through mosquitos.  While it can impact a variety of mammals, including cats, it’s seen most frequently in dogs.  Here at the Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando, we have experienced a ½ percent increase in the number of dogs received who are positive for heartworms in the past year as compared to the year before.

At first there may be no symptoms but as the larvae mature they become lodged in the heart, lungs and surrounding blood vessels where they are able to grow to a foot long and reproduce.

Overtime, the pet will develop a cough, become winded during play and may lose their appetite resulting in weight loss.  If the number of heartworms becomes large enough they can block blood flow in the heart, leading to heart failure and death.

Fortunately, all of this is preventable with monthly treatment which cost about $10 a month.  Preventatives should be given year round, especially here in Central Florida where mosquitos are a threat year round.

If your dog is at least six months old, schedule a test with a veterinarian before starting heartworm prevention.  Preventatives do not kill adult heartworms and may cause complications if given to a pet already infected with heartworms.

Schedule your appointment at the Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando today by calling 407-351-7722.

Formerly the SPCA of Central Florida, the Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando’s goal is to provide compassionate and knowledgeable services for pets and their families here in Central Florida.  We will provide shelter and care to more than 10,000 dogs and cats this year.  Learn more by visiting www.PetAllianceOrlando.org.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All Pet Alliance locations are closed Saturday, February 10. Come see us at Paws in the Park