Would you ever put your pet in harm's way? No way!
Knowingly expose them to an infection that could potentially be fatal? Never!
Yet there are millions of pet owners who do not give their pets an incredibly important and very basic level of care - diagnosis and prevention of all manner of creepy-crawly parasites.
Heartworm, ticks, fleas, and intestinal parasites are the most common parasites that afflict companion dogs and cats. The Companion Animal Parasite Council (CAPC), an independent council of respected veterinary professionals, has found that even though heartworm disease is completely preventable, over a quarter of a million dogs and cats are diagnosed with it every year. Every three years, the American Heartworm Society publishes a map showing the spread of the disease – and every three years, the areas become larger and larger.
This is unacceptable, and it's completely preventable. Heartworm medication is necessary year-round in Chicagoland, as is annual testing for this deadly disease. This year, we're making a combined test available - it tests for both heartworm disease and the most common diseases carried by ticks, too. Many of the tick-borne diseases can be deadly for people, especially for children and seniors. Our "4DX test" is a cost-effective way to know if your pets are carrying diseases that can affect not just them, but you and your family.
After testing, the year-round use of heartworm preventative also provides better protection for intestinal parasites, such as roundworms and hookworms. CAPC reminds us that roundworms commonly affect children, and can cause vision loss, lung disease, and even brain disease. Hookworms can penetrate the skin of anyone that walks barefoot (or sits) in the areas where a pet poops. Have you ever walked through your backyard on a warm summer day with no shoes on? Ever sat on a nice warm beach or a nice grassy meadow and watched dogs frolic in the water or in the grass? Well, as you were watching that pleasant scene, hookworms were invading your body through any surface that was touching the ground. Ever felt a little itchy after sitting there? I thought so!
We're not passing along this information so that you can walk in fear (with shoes on, of course) that you're surrounded by parasites. Parasites are a fact of life - but having your health affected by them doesn't have to be! We want to educate you so that you can take the necessary precautions to protect your pets and, in turn, your families from unnecessary infections.
As medical professionals, my staff and I are concerned for your and your pets’ safety. None of our paychecks benefit or gain from telling you to use appropriate parasite control - we do it because that's what we do for our own pets, and we want your pets to be as safe and healthy as our pets and our own families. That's why we talk so much about the need for heartworm testing and year-round prevention. And why we talk to you about the many months of the year that you need flea and tick prevention. And that's why we require that fecal samples be brought in at least once a year for testing. And, why, if you forget to bring a sample, we send you home with a pre-paid container for sample collection and return to the hospital at your earliest convenience. If your pets frequent areas that other animals use as a toilet, such as doggie day care facilities, dog parks, or around ponds where geese swim, or if you use a common area to walk your pet (as most condominiums and smaller subdivisions have), or you have wild creatures trooping though your yard, it is recommended by CAPC that a fecal sample be brought in at least twice a year.
The sooner we identify parasites in your pet, the easier and faster it is to control them and to keep your pets and families safe. To learn more about parasite control, you can visit the CAPC website at http://petsandparasites.org/. (And if you want to see some scary data, open their USA maps, pick a disease, and roll your pointer over the map of Illinois - it scared me!)
Dr. Mitchell
