I just received this email alert and wanted to pass the information along in the case that it may pertain to you. It is directly mainly at pet owners located in the Gulf region. If this is you, you may want to talk to your vet and have your dog tested for heartworm, just as a safety measure.
I want to share something with everyone, not to cause panic or anything, but because this is something everyone with dogs/who deals with dogs needs to know. Last month, one of my dogs, Rosey (small Beagle), tested positive for heartworm. I was absolutely floored. Of COURSE I have all my dogs on preventative. I am religious about it. How could Rosey have gotten heartworms???? The vet suggested that, because I was giving her the “0-to-25 pound” dosage (she is 25 pounds), that perhaps she should have been getting the “25-to-50 pound” dosage. Hmmm… ok.
Then he shared with me that there is a growing concern in the vet community that there is now a strain of heartworm in the Gulf region that has become resistant to Ivermectin. My heart sank. Really? He assured me they were questioning the makers of the preventatives…..
Well, yesterday, Satchmo, one of my Bassets, went for his annual…. And guess what…. he tested positive for heartworm. He is 58 pounds and takes the “50-to-100 pound” dose no under-dosing there!
My vet) and I talked for a long time. There is indeed apparently now a strain of heartworm that is resistant to Ivermectin, they are thinking. They suspect it is related to the effects of Katrina. She said more and more dogs in the Gulf area are testing positive…. Dogs who are ON preventative, regularly, religiously, like mine. I’m so upset, I can’t even think.