When I decided I wanted to learn a bit more about heartworms and the dangers these parasites pose to our pets and therefore the importance of preventative care, I thought this was going to a relatively straight forward topic. And it did start out this way.
Everyone agrees on the method these nasty worms infect our dogs, cats and even ferrets. In a nutshell, our pet gets bitten by a mosquito that has all ready bitten an infected animal and passes on the larval stage of the worm through its saliva which is deposited near the bite. The larva swims through the saliva to the bite hours later. From there, the larvae gets into the bloodstream where it matures in about six months and becomes the critter we call a heartworm. As the heartworm matures it migrates to the arteries of the lungs and the right side of the heart. If left untreated, our pet could die.
Everyone also agrees that prevention is the key in this awful disease. But how to do so is where the controversy begins. We pet owners are all familiar with the monthly preventatives that our vet sells us like Heartgard, but I was very surprised to learn that there is another group of people that would like us to be more aware that there is a more natural method that exists to prevent heartworm disease in our pets. These individuals, mainly holistic-minded people, believe that using a safer gentler herbal mixture is much better for the long-term health of our animals. Most of the websites I visited in regards to “natural” heartworm prevention, however, differed on exactly which herbs were the best to get the job done. I’m not suggesting that we all jump on this bandwagon until we learn more about this herbal method of heartworm prevention, but it is exciting to think that perhaps some day in the not too distant future we may have a more natural alternative to keep our pets safe from heartworms.
Heather K, CPNA
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