This is the time of year when mosquitoes swarm in large swathes over the country spreading crippling and sometimes fatal diseases. Heartworms is chief among those and as a small percentage of pet parents experience, a serious problem that can have a lethal outcome.
Dr. Chris Duke has volumes of both academic and empirical experience with this parasite and the havoc it can wreak and as both the President of American Heartworm Society and a practicing veterinarian, Dr. Duke enlightens us on its every aspect.
There's more here than even I learned this past year through the crash course imposed on me with my adopted fuzzybutt, Grayson; and Dr. Duke is a thorough and enjoyable teacher and storyteller that takes us through it all. Also, check out their website for the great infographics and resources available for pet parents.
Website for American Heartworm Society: https://www.heartwormsociety.org/
--------
Show Notes 1: Audio - at around the 1:03 mark my audio takes on static. The new Lumina 4k AI Camera is having problems we hope to resolve soon so the next few episodes are affected by it.
Show Notes 2: As some of you know, Yer Big Dog's boy Grayson had heartworms upon adoption and while we thought it was resolved, just went through the 3 injection treatment after an echocardiogram revealed otherwise. Gray was among the relatively small percentage (25% was the data I read) that can have vomiting and GI upset as a side effect.
Though not definitively correlated, there's sufficient linkage in my mind although I cannot stress enough - there is no alternative. Grayson is an L5 and slow treatment does not kill that stage of adult heartworm. After a night in the ER in Memphis TN, Grayson has healed 100% and I detect no after effects.
Grayson's case should be a cautionary tale and warning to pet parents who for any of the exhaustive self justifications discussed in this episode, don't give their dogs heartworm prevention. But this it's also to educate prospective parents who are fostering heartorm positive dogs. Test and re-test before you adopt. That would not have changed my decision to adopt Grayson nor should it yours since in the vast majority of all cases and in Grayson's it seems so far, heatworm treatment has a successful outcome.
Hope this may be of some help to some - YBD
#FuzzybuttsAndFriends #YerBigDog #LukeRobinson #GingerMorgan #CanineCaner #Heartworms #AmericanHeartwormSociety #DrChrisDuke #Dogs #DogCancer #PuppyUp
