Paws for a Cause Vet Care carries a variety of top brands in heartworm, flea, and tick prevention. Prices and quantity vary based on product, pet’s age and weight, rebates and more. Contact us to learn more.
Heartworm
What is Heartworm Disease?
Heartworm disease is a serious and potentially fatal disease in pets 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 close proximity to many urban areas, they are considered important carriers of the disease.
Heartworm Testing
Annual testing is necessary, even when dogs are on heartworm preventative year-round, to ensure that the prevention program is working. Heartworm medications are highly effective, but dogs can still become infected. If you miss just one dose of a monthly medication—or give it late—it can leave your dog unprotected. Even if you give the medication as recommended, your dog may spit out or vomit a heartworm pill—or rub off a topical medication.
Heartworm preventives are highly effective, but not 100 percent effective. If you don’t get your dog tested, you won’t know if your dog needs treatment.
Fleas & Ticks
Fleas
Ticks
Ticks are tiny, but very resourceful. Rather than dying off in the winter, they seek shelter among fallen leaves in the wooded areas they normally inhabit.
At the first sign of milder weather, they emerge in search of a meal. Some disease-carrying species of ticks may stay active as long as the climate remains above freezing and isn’t too icy or wet.
Ticks latch on to pets and people by burrowing into the skin, producing a glue-like substance to stay attached and feeding on their host’s blood for days. Without regular prevention, it can be hard to stop a tick from attaching to an animal. It’s important to know that your pet can encounter ticks outside the woods too. They can be found in trees, woodpiles, grass, and under leaves. Since pets are low to the ground, ticks can attach to their fur quickly and crawl down to the skin, where they will attach.
In addition to Lyme disease, a variety of other tick-transmitted diseases and infections could harm your pet. Regardless of whether you think your pet is likely to come in contact with these harmful pests, it’s crucial to provide year-long protection.