Heartworm Awareness Month

Heartworm Awareness Month—What You Need to Know to Protect Your Pet

While April is considered Heartworm Awareness Month, this complex disease can strike your pet at any time. Prevention is the best way to keep your pet heartworm free, and this deadly disease can be challenging to detect in your dog or cat without the care of an experienced veterinarian in Braselton. Anytime you suspect or heartworms or we diagnose them in your pet, it’s considered an animal care emergency, as there is no time to waste in starting immediate treatment.

What are the Risks and Symptoms of Heartworm Disease?

Here at Animal Emergency Care in Braselton, GA, our vet team takes heart diseases seriously. Heartworms are typically spread through infected mosquito bites that result in parasitic worms that invade your pet’s heart. While more common in dogs, cats can also be infected. Symptoms of heartworms include:

• Decreased Appetite
• Fatigue
• Weight Loss
• Coughing
• Lethargic Behavior
• Social Separation

If you suspect your pet may have heartworms, it’s essential to get them in to see us as soon as possible. We can run a quick in-house blood test to confirm the diagnosis; however, the earliest the disease is typically detectible is a long five months after the sourcing bite occurs.

Heartworm Prevention and Treatment for Dogs and Cats

Again, prevention is the best medicine, and our veterinarian in Braselton can recommend a monthly oral preventive heartworm medication for your pet. These can range in cost anywhere from $100-200 annually. However, that’s just a drop in the proverbial water bucket when compared to the emotional and financial burdens of having to get heartworm treatment.

Heartworm treatment requires your pet to undergo blood work, x-rays and a series of injections that will require hospitalization. Depending on the status of your dog or cat’s infection, these treatment protocol can cost you anywhere from $1000-3000—a huge chunk of change when compared to cost of preventive treatments. Pets who have suffered an extended time from heartworms often succumb to the illness, even with aggressive treatment methods.

Don’t put your pet at risk, talk to our vet about our affordable heartworm prevention methods, which include oral medications and annual testing during your pet’s comprehensive wellness exam. An examination at least once a year can mean the difference between a healthy pet and one who may succumb to this horrible disease.

Get the Best Treatment at Animal Emergency Care of Braselton Today

We boast generous after hours pet emergency care from 6 pm to 8 am weekdays and are open 24 hours on Saturdays and Sundays to ensure your furry friend can get immediate care. Whether your pet is suffering from an accidental poisoning or a suspected case of heartworms, come by our office at 2095 GA-211 #2A in Braselton, GA or call our team at 470-209-7222 to make an appointment today.