Pets, Parasites and People

     By Dr. Colin Combs, DVM
     for the BarkZone March 2008 E-Letter

With spring just around the corner, our thoughts turn to getting outside with our furry companions. Thoughts of mountain hikes and warmer fetch games fill Fido’s head too. It’s also time to remember that there are parasites – “worms” – that we must protect our pets against. Spring has traditionally been the time of year to start your dog on Heartworm preventative. That was based on the logic that Heartworm is spread by mosquitoes and they become active in late April or May in our area. A mosquito bites an infected dog; the parasite incubates in the mosquito and then bites your dog passing on a larval stage of the worm. This worm takes 6-10 months to mature in the pulmonary artery and can reach a hideous one-foot in length! The major brand, once a month preventatives (Interceptor, HeartGaurd Plus) are very effective at preventing this larva from developing. However the problem lies with us forgetting to start the medicine in the spring or give it each month. For this reason The American Heartworm Society (www.heartwormsociety.org) recommends year round preventative to avoid missed doses or surprise early or late season mosquitoes. With our irrigation ditches, lakes and rivers we have more mosquitoes in Weld County then many areas in the Front Range. For that reason we have always had more Heartworm disease. Our local incidence rate approaches 1 in 1000 for dogs not on preventative.

But perhaps even more important for our pets, families and community are the intestinal worms. The dangers of these worms are multifold. . Freezing or drying so that means they can be spread year round through contaminated stool or soil does not kill their eggs. Because of this resistant nature infection with these worms is even more common. Estimates of infection rates for our area are 10-15% depending on exposure. Left untreated these parasites literally “suck” the blood and energy out of your dog. The other alarming thing about some of these intestinal worms is that they can be transmitted to humans. This is critically important when children are around pets because devastating illness can occur. More information about parasites and people is available at www.capcvet.org

It is because of these health risks and to prevent the spread of these parasites to our “guests” that the BarkZone has implemented the highest health requirements of any daycare facility in Greeley. We require that all dogs be on year round monthly worm preventative and flea and tick preventative in the summer months. Our association with West Ridge Animal Hospital means your pet’s physical health is just as important as the “mental health” that comes with a being a BarkZone dog. More information on these health policies is available at West Ridge Animal Hospital's Boarding page.