At PetVet365, we believe pets should receive the highest standard of care 365 days of the year.
04/24/2025
⭐ PET OF THE MONTH: APRIL 2025 ⭐
Say hello to War! 🐶
War’s very first visit with us was in June of 2024. War was previously diagnosed with heartworm disease in 2023. Heartworm disease is a serious and potentially fatal condition in pets. It is caused by worms that live in the heart, lungs, and blood vessels. It can cause severe lung disease, heart failure, and damage to other organs. The disease can affect a dog’s health and quality of life long after the parasites are gone. ❤️🩹
THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT HEARTWORM DISEASE:
◾️ Signs of heartworm disease may include a mild persistent cough, reluctance to exercise, fatigue after moderate activity, decreased appetite, and weight loss. In the early stages of the disease, many dogs show few symptoms or no symptoms at all. The longer the infection persists, the more likely symptoms will develop.
◾️ Dogs with large numbers of heartworms can develop sudden blockages of blood flow within the heart leading to a life-threatening form of cardiovascular collapse, called caval syndrome. Without quick surgical removal of the heartworm blockage, few dogs will survive.
◾️ The yearly heartworm test that is performed on your dog is called an “antigen” test. This test detects the presence of adult female heartworms by identifying specific proteins that they release into a dog's bloodstream.
◾️ Once a dog tests positive on an antigen test, the diagnosis should be confirmed with an additional test called a microfilaria test. This test examines the blood for the presence of heartworm offspring to help confirm the positive antigen test. Because the treatment regimen for heartworm is both expensive and complex, any veterinarian will want to be absolutely sure that treatment is necessary for your pet!
💊 At the time of his first visit, War was being treated for heartworms with what is considered the “slow kill” method. This consists of antibiotics and monthly heartworm prevention. We performed a follow up heartworm antigen test on War to see if this treatment was working and discovered that he was still positive.
➕ Due to his positive test results, Dr. Martin recommended that War start heartworm treatment injections. This injectable medication is called melarsomine and it is given intramuscularly (similar to vaccines in humans). This course of treatment consists of one injection followed by two injections given 24 hours apart. During his treatment regimen, War had to be on strict cage rest for about 6 months to prevent any circulatory issues from occurring as the worms died.
❤ We are so happy to share that War received his first negative heartworm test on October 19th, 2024. He will need to be retested again this year, approximately 1 year after his last treatment, to confirm that all heartworms have been eliminated. To avoid the possibility of him contracting heartworms again, he is also on ProHeart—a 6-month injectable heartworm prevention—year-round!
🐾 War is so much more than his diagnosis, which is why we chose him for our Pet of the Month! Though War had to receive multiple treatments and is not the biggest fan of the vet, he was always the best boy and tolerated us helping him! Of course, he always had to have a pup cup at the beginning of every visit and would greet us with a tail wag.
✨ At home, War’s mom says his favorite thing to do is lay on the couch and watch television. His favorite show is We Bare Bears. He also loves dressing up! His favorite foods are chicken & rice, apples, and peanut butter. War also loves going on car rides, and thinks he needs a pup cup to celebrate every single car ride.
🥰 War is a very special boy and we are so honored to be a part of his treatment! 🥰
