Pet wellness care includes parasite prevention. Parasites are organisms that live on or in a host and can affect almost every pet. It is important to detect and treat parasites because they interfere with absorbing nutrients from their food and can cause blood loss. Some parasites can also cause disease in humans. Young pets are often born with parasites because of the ways these organisms have adapted to survive. All pets need to be checked and treated when necessary. Parasites infections can be controlled by picking up your animal’s feces and giving heartworm prevention monthly

Heartworm

Heartworm is an all too common disease in the southern canine population. Heartworm disease IS TRANSMITTED BY MOSQUITOS. This disease cannot be detected by you, or even a veterinarian, until late stages of the disease. The only way to know if your dog has contracted the disease before it is showing signs is by a blood test.

Heartworm is disease that IS a real threat to your dog. This disease is deadly to your beloved companion. It lives in the pulmonary artery and causes heart failure. It also causes horrible lung disease because the worm gives off chemicals that cause a reaction in the lungs, similar to asthma in people. The only way to protect your dog from this disease is with heartworm prevention. Something a lot of people don’t know is that you are not only protecting your dog from the disease you are protecting every dog within miles of your house. This is because if your dog develops the infection and a mosquito bites him. The next dog that mosquito bites will be injected with the deadly parasite larvae.

In Virginia you need to keep your dog on heartworm prevention all year. This is because it is never cold enough for long enough to kill mosquitos. Remember, we live in the south and Heartworm disease is transmitted in all seasons.

At Healing with Heart, we offer multiple heartworm preventatives. We offer two types of monthly prevention, Interceptor and Sentinel. We also offer an injectable heartworm prevention, Proheart, that lasts for 6 months. Ask Dr. Deavers and her team what is the best product for your pet.

External Parasites

Fleas and ticks cause your pet itchiness, discomfort, and skin irritation. More importantly, these parasites steal blood from your pet’s body and transmit tick borne disease, such as Lyme disease. Tick borne disease can cause bone marrow disorders, lameness, kidney failure and neurological disorders.

It is important for your pet and all the human family members that you provide your dog or cat with appropriate flea and tick protection. We offer the Serestos collar for cats and dogs to protect against fleas and ticks. We also carry the oral chews, Bravecto and Nexgard, for dogs, as well as Cheristan and Revolution for cats. We have Advantage available for our bunny population.

Intestinal Parasites

We recommend checking an annual stool sample to ensure that your pet did not develop an intestinal parasite infection during the year. The monthly heartworm preventions we carry also prevent whipworms, hookworms, and roundworms which are the intestinal parasites prevalent in our environment. If your pet is on heartworm prevention purchased at a veterinary hospital and you are compliant with our recommended testing and your pet is positive for intestinal parasites the preventative manufacturer will cover the costs associated with treatment. Our pharmacy carries the best quality parasite control medications and treatments to ensure that your pet and family are safe and parasite-free.

Did you know your Pet Can Contract Parasites by…

  • Drinking unsanitary water
  • Eating grass that is already infected with parasite eggs
  • Eating their stool or the stool of another pet
  • Interacting with other dogs already infected with a parasite
  • Passed on by their mother—parasites can be passed on via the placenta
  • Mosquitos

Please call us today with any questions you have about parasites that may affect your pet. We’d love to fit your four legged companion with a Serestos collar or determine what parasite control is right for them.