Talia's shock after dog diagnosed with 'no symptom' disease: 'We had no idea'
By Suzy Monzer|
Heartworm disease is not something you want your furry friend to experience, and in light of recent flooding from Tropical Cyclone Ellie in parts of the country, pet owners are being warned to stay up-to-date with prevention.
Talia ?Maxwell's dog Nala had to undergo treatment for heartworm in March 2022, resulting from a mosquito bite, and she echoes vets' and pet insurers' concerns in warning others to keep up with preventative treatments.
"?This topic is something I do believe dog owners should be better educated on," she said.
The two-year-old Bull Arab cross surprised her owner when a routine trip to the vet resulted in a heartworm disease diagnosis.?
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"We had no idea Nala had heartworm, or had been bitten," said Maxwell.
"We had been told when we rescued her that she was up to date with heartworm, and after some time scheduled her in for routine vaccinations."
It was at one of these routine vaccination visits that she was found to be heartworm positive.?
What is heartworm disease??
Heartworm disease is a disease transmitted through mosquito bites, where the mosquito injects the larval stage of the worm into your pet. It can take about six months for the larvae to mature and travel towards the heart.
Once the worms mature, they will reproduce and if the mosquito feeds on the infected dog and then feeds on another pet it can infect the other pet, and the cycle continues.?
What are the symptoms??
Maxwell in her case, Nala had displayed no symptoms, however PetSure's Vet Advisor Dr Betty Chan notes symptoms can show in some pets.
"Early signs of heartworm in dogs could be shortness of breath, loss of stamina or a dry cough, while for cats the signs can be more mild but generally include slight lethargy or a cough," she says.
What does treatment look like??
After Nala's diagnosis, the next step was lengthy and costly.
"The treatment cost us roughly $1500 and took five months," said Maxwell.
"Now we engage with consistent precautionary treatment and will for the rest of her life.?"
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The experience of treatment? was 'horrible' for Maxwell, and she explains the importance of having a good veterinary clinic and trusting your gut.
"Honestly, the whole process was a bit of a nightmare," she said.
"Nala's diagnosis was pretty good as she had a low burden, so the actual treatment was not very risky, however we had lots of problems with out veterinary clinic during the process."
Despite her pet being at low risk, Maxwell's stress was exacerbated by the clinic's attitude.
"Multiple times our appointments were cancelled after arriving due to not having ordered the drugs on time," she said.
"One appointment we had even left Nala at the clinic for three hours before it was brought to my attention."
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In one instance later in Nala's treatment, Maxwell claims the vet, who was experienced with pets who have heartworm, "forgot to prescribe or administer the appropriate medication" for Nala.
"My recommendation to anyone going through this problem, particularly in an area where it isn't super common, is just to be very diligent, and to change vets if you don't think your pet is getting the care it deserves.?"
Treatment for heartworm depends on the severity of the case and can be quite risky.
"Your dog will generally require medication administered into the back muscles to kill the adult heartworms that reside in the heart and blood vessels in the lungs," explains Dr Chan.
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"Your vet may also administer medication to suppress the immune system to prevent an excessive inflammatory response, which the body will initiate as the adult heartworm starts to die off."
Chan notes complications during treatment may include the dying worms causing blockages in the dog's blood vessels, which can be fatal.
"Some dogs may need to be hospitalised during treatment to monitor for complications, such as blood clots, and to provide supportive care such as oxygen therapy," she said.
"If your dog is being treated for heartworm, it's important to restrict their exercise and only slowly resume their exercise back to their normal level under strict guidance from your vet."
During the treatment, Maxwell notes feeling "heartbreaking guilt and sadness" for Nala.
"Whilst we tried our best to keep her busy and occupied it was obvious that she was quite depressed due to the lack of exercise she was able to do, and for us as owners it was hard to deal with it," she said.
Thankfully, Nala's treatment went well and she is now a happy and healthy pup.
"Finishing our treatment was a huge relief, and something that we had been looking for for months," said Maxwell.
"We instantly headed down to the beach, and from then on it was a slow process of building back her fitness and confidence in noisy/loud areas with lots of external stimuli."
Preventative care?
Despite treatment being risky and costly, heartworm is a relatively common and "100 per cent preventable" condition?.
Dr Chan explains preventative care is the best measure against heartworm disease and that with the recent flooding from Tropical Cyclone Ellie, it's important to for pet owners to keep their animals up to date with heartworm prevention in the face of more mosquitoes.
"Prevention is always best, so make sure you take extra care to ensure your pet is up to date with preventative medication to protect them from this disease," she says.
The treatment can consist of either tablets or injections depending on each dog owner's preference and what works best for them and their pet.?
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"You can give your dog monthly oral tablets or otherwise your vet can give your dog an injection that provides longer protection depending on the age of your dog. If you're unsure of your preventative options, speak to your local vet," she says.
She also notes that? heartworm preventatives need to be given to your pet frequently, all year round, adding that dogs can get started on the treatment quite early.
"Dogs can start on heartworm preventatives from six to eight weeks of age, so it's important to give them preventative medication early on," she says.
"You need to give your pet heartworm preventatives continuously because if you accidentally skip heartworm preventatives for more than six months, you'll need to take your pet to the vet to check they aren't infected with heartworm before they can restart on the heartworm prevention medication."
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