Heartworm disease is potentially fatal to dogs, caused by foot-long worms that live in their heart, lungs, and blood vessels, causing severe distress to their organs. It affects dogs the most, as they are natural hosts for heartworms — meaning they are the ideal environment for heartworms to mature into adults, mate, and produce offspring. When left untreated, dogs can have a burden of several hundred worms at a time, causing lasting damage to their heart, lungs, and arteries. The damage can lead to a shorter lifespan and a poor quality of life, even if treatment is successful.

As veterinarians, what we’d love to talk about all day is puppy breath, good nutrition, and pet toys we recommend. Unfortunately, we have to also talk about the tough stuff to keep our pet and human clients safe, and one of those topics is heartworm disease. April is Heartworm Awareness Month.

We are so proud of pet owners who take such loving care of their family members. They buy good quality food, keep their dogs and cats clean and sheltered, and protect them from infectious diseases.

Heartworm infection is a serious and potentially fatal disease in both dogs and cats. Fortunately, however, this disease is 100 percent preventable!

You might be surprised to discover how common dog worms are in the environment. In fact, some sources say most dogs - even healthy dogs -- host a low level of worms nearly all the time. After all, your dog goes outside, probably eats questionable substances on occasion, and may be known to roll in smelly areas. Since dog worms are often in the dirt (or in whatever else is in the dirt!), or are transmitted by fleas or mosquitos, you can see how it wouldn’t be a surprise that your dog could have worms.

April is National Heartworm Awareness Month! Are your pets protected? Here’s what you need to know.

Heartworms are transmitted by mosquitos.

Heartworms are long, spaghetti-like parasites that live in the heart or pulmonary arteries. These worms cause disease by clogging the heart and major blood vessels, resulting in reduced blood supply to other organs, such as the liver, kidney and lungs.