I think just about every vet's office I've ever set foot in has one thing in common -- the giant heartworm poster that you stare at as you wait with your furry friend in the tiny exam room. When I was about three years old, I even remember our family vet showing me a dog's heart in a jar that had been infected with heartworms. Probably not the best thing to show to a three year old, but I was fascinated and whatever etched itself into my little mind certainly worked -- I've never missed giving my pets their heartworm treatments. But what are these little bastards called heartworms, and how do dogs and cats get them?
The Birth of Evil
A heartworm is a parasitic roundworm that is spread through mosquito bites. What happens is a mosquito bites an animal whose blood is infected by this parasite, and transfers it to the next thing it bites if that creature is a susceptible host. No worries, humans can't get them.
This is what an infected mosquito looks like:
Notice the evil eyebrows - watch out for this guy.
This mosquito picked up larvae in their first stage and carried them around in his belly for a while. Yum, right? When he goes to infect, his mouth is full of the heartworm larvae in their third stage -- the infection stage. See, they need papa mosquito to grow from stage one to three, and then they're ready to pack their bags and get their own place. It's adios and thanks for the cozy one-bedroom gore-fest.
It takes about two weeks to reach stage three, but heartworm larvae can only grow to this infectious stage if temperatures are at or above 80 degrees F. If temperatures drop below 57 degrees, the spawn of evil cannot grow and justice will prevail. HOWEVER,(just because I know what all you northerners are now thinking) cases have been found in Alaska and warmer parts of Canada so don't you guys go skipping treatments just because you're not exactly a tropical paradise!
Lung Worms?
Once the larvae are in, if the animal is not protected by heartworm prevention meds, they relax and grow for about 6 or 7 months before they reach the adult worm stage. At this point, the mental image you probably have (though not as poorly drawn) is this:
Not so! Though heartworms do attack the heart, they actually cause more damage to lung tissues. So I drew a bit of this...
Yes, this is high art at its finest. A modern artist's impression of the heartworm infecting the lungs. Okay, so maybe I just took 3 seconds to doodle this, and then added some party hats to the worms.
Shaggy's Story
The Humane Society has something called the "C.H.A.N.C.E.S." program (Creating Healthy Animals Needing Care Exceeding the Standard) for animals dealing with health issues. If I'm not mistaken, this was the glorious brain-child of the one and only Dana Johnson and has been a HUGE success. Why am I shifting gears? Because our heartworm positive animals get a second chance at adoption through this program -- we pay for the treatment, and the dog gets a forever home! It has helped so many animals that would've been put to sleep at other shelters.
There had been absolutely no problems with the program running smoothly until Sunday of this week. Shaggy (whose name has been changed to protect the feelings of outside parties) was brought back in mid-afternoon. He was having trouble breathing, and was barely moving at all.
Long story short, heartworms are completely treatable, but treatment means we're killing the worms and they're going to still be in your dog or cat's heart or lungs until they die, rot and dissolve. Because of this little fact, we always tell owners to keep dogs crated and calm while they are undergoing the treatments and to leash walk only, basically so the worms won't dislodge and block arteries, normally meaning instant death for the animal.
Shaggy had his second heartworm treatment, and instead of being crated was given full reign of the house, let out on his own in the back yard, and even taken for a car ride where he was allowed to get very excited while his new owner did some grocery shopping. His owner noticed him passed out in the back yard that morning, surrounded by vomit and bloody stool.
Upon seeing him, we immediately thought the worst. It was bad enough that x-rays were needed so we could not treat him at our facility. The kind ladies at the clinic kept him under oxygen while I ran to pull up my car. Here's a picture of the little guy in my passenger seat.
He barely moved the whole way there, and I held my breath for him as I pushed the speed limits and weaved my way around the roads.
We left him at the emergency vet clinic over night so he could get round-the-clock care and stay in their oxygen chamber. Because he had also suffered some rectal bleeding, I am afraid for him even though the x-rays showed very little fluid in his lungs. I have not heard yet how he is doing, or if he made it out. I'm sorry to leave you with that cliff hanger, but I will update you as soon as I know.
The Happy Endings
The happy endings lie with all of our animals who go to responsible homes, and for all owners out there who have faced and conquered heartworm disease. I know it's hard to crate your pets, but it really is for their health and safety.
The happy ending is Lucy, who successfully completed her first heartworm treatment and was adopted through the Chances program today. We are not going to stop a good program because of one fluke incident.
Hopefully, the happy ending will be when Shaggy pulls through. I'm really hoping for that little guy.
So don't forget to give your pets that monthly dose of heartworm meds. I'd recommend Advantage Multi for dogs and Revolution for cats -- this treats fleas and heartworms so you're killing two birds with one stone. We're not all made of money, and those are the products used at the Humane Society.
If you're still with me and I haven't depressed you too much, thank you for reading and for caring about animals. Every pet owner makes a difference by offering their animals a forever home. And, just to reward you, I present the inspiration for the term "cat loaf."
Poe is my catloaf. Notice the round shape, and the eyes that say: "I have evolved, move me on my wheely chair, human slave."
So if the heartworms get you down, please grab your nearest catloaf and squeeze gently until you smile. Or until the catloaf maims you... then you should probably stop squeezing.
EDIT - SHAGGY UPDATE
Shaggy did pull through and he is currently in foster care with one of our veteran volunteers. He will remain there until he has completed his heartworm treatments and is 100% healthy. His adopted owner looks forward to getting him back, but understands the necessity of close and careful watch until that time comes.
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