Busted - Heartworm Lies

25 16:12:49

No way around it. If your best friend has heartworm, it can be devastating to the poor thing. It's curable if caught in time. But occasionally the cure truly does a number on the animal. Usually, the mutt will have to get treated with arsenic.

Some folks think they have to put the dog down if it has the infection. Not necessarily true. Something can always be done except in the most extreme cases. That's why you need to have your canine checked regularly for the bug. And it's not just a doggie disease. Cats and other animals can catch the worm, too.

Signs

We'll focus on the mutt-side in this post. Here's what to watch-out for. It might tell you that you need to book a visit with the vet:

Trouble breathing
Very dark and bloody urine
Loss of weight
Coughing
Pale gums
Fainting
Doesn't like to move around and hates to exercise
Weird sounds coming from its lungs

Now For the Lies

They just got their shots. What's the big deal?

Even if their shots are up-to-date, there is no vaccine against heartworms. It's preventable, but there's no magic bullet once the pup is afflicted.

We just got this 8-week old dog a few days ago. It's got a chemical in its little body that keeps it from getting heartworm.

Sounds like that moron politician who used the phrase "legitimate rape." Anyhow, speaking of puppies, they do not have a natural immunity to the bug. They can catch it from a mosquito or by biting a flea. Age is not a factor.

So, the vet found the dog has heartworm. Modern science should make it easy to get rid of.

Heartworm treatment is not a walk in the park. As mentioned earlier it's a harsh procedure. It can be costly and risky. But, hey, this is your buddy. Spring for the fix.

We've heard that dogs can live for years with heartworm.

Yeah, many miserable years. This vicious disease can be fatal. If it doesn't kill your mutt, it could cause kidney, liver, blood clots in their lungs or heart failure.

We ain't got any heartworms in our state.

Some people don't think they have a problem in the region where they live. Probably true if you have a little fixer-upper in Antarctica. Other than that, animals of the entire world are at risk.

When the mosquitoes begin biting, that's when we start passing out the pills.

If you're just giving your animal some heartworm prevention pill in the summer, you need to re-think that decision. Of course, it's rare to get stuck by a 'skeeter in North Dakota in January, but the Humane Society suggests that you slip a pill down the pups gullet all-year 'round.