We live in the internet age where without leaving the comfort of our home, we can order anything from a big screen television to an automobile and have them shipped directly to our door. With our very busy lives, saving a trip to the store can be great.
There are now a number of ads on tv and the internet about getting your pets medication online. One of the biggest products is heartworm preventative.
The product we recommend here at Oasis is Heartgard Plus, made by Merial. It is a monthly chewable treat that contains:
Ivermectin- the heartworm preventative and Pyrantel Pamoate- a dewormer for hookworms and roundworms.
This drug combination has been on the market for many years and there are other “generic” products that are similar. Recently, I saw a dog that had been on a generic heartworm preventative that they purchased online. We saw the dog for its annual examination and a heartworm test was done. Even though this dog had been on preventative and its owners had been giving it every month, the test was positive. Follow up testing confirmed that the dog did have heartworm disease.
The treatment for heartworm disease is expensive and can sometimes be fatal. This dog’s owners were being diligent but they think that the dog might have vomited after giving the medication. It just so happened that it was infected by a mosquito during that time and acquired heartworm disease.
While this may occur while giving you dog Heartgard Plus, but if you purchased it from your veterinarian, Merial will pay for your dogs heartworm treatment.
All that is required is that there was a negative heartworm test prior to starting on the heartworm preventative.
We all want the best for our animals and it can be nice to know that if something goes wrong, that there is some help to make it right.
If you have any questions about heartworm preventative or heartworm disease, please give us a call at 480-899-7738.
Thanks, Dr. Salemi