Immiticide (Heartworm treatment) will not be available for..

[Ellie May]

some time according to the American Heartworm Society. The letter from Merial has been sent to vets. When the product supply is depleted, there will be no more to be had for I don't know how long. Doesn't sound good at all.

Please keep your pups on heartworm prevention year-round.

Treatment for now will vary by vet and probably include doxycycline and a monthly preventative which is what some refer to as slow kill. It's thought to be way less desirable than Immiticide therapy in most cases.

[tem_sat]

Originally Posted by Ellie May

some time according to the American Heartworm Society. The letter from Merial has been sent to vets. When the product supply is depleted, there will be no more to be had for I don't know how long. Doesn't sound good at all.

Please keep your pups on heartworm prevention year-round.

Treatment for now will vary by vet and probably include doxycycline and a monthly preventative which is what some refer to as slow kill. It's thought to be way less desirable than Immiticide therapy in most cases.

Can you please give me the date of that letter and, if possible, verifiable source? I cannot locate anything so far via Google (only the 2010 shortage). My Doxie went through treatment in 2010 so that is the reason it is of interest to me. Thanks in advance.

[Ellie May]

Sure.

I can't give a date or a copy of the letter, but the American Heartworm Society is reporting that it went out to vets on their FB page. Just friend the AHS on FB and you can read their comments.

[tem_sat]

Found it, thanks!

[107barney]

Wow scary!

tem_sat, what HW prevention product failed your dog?

[Ellie May]

I'm wondering too.

I try to pick a product based on safety and effectiveness. Always concerned that there will be product failure here (bc sometimes it just happens).

[tem_sat]

Originally Posted by 107barney

Wow scary!

tem_sat, what HW prevention product failed your dog?

Well...firstly I am in the real estate biz and have been for about 15 years. When I adopted my Doxie, on the last page of the contract, it stated: heartworm negative. Having never adopted a dog before, I believed what I read and what I signed (like any other contract). Long story, short, after a dental was performed about 2 weeks after adopting him, it was discovered that he was HW+. I was very upset and had never experienced a dog having this issue. Therefore, we through the Immiticide treatment and extremely stressful 8-week aftercare. It is not anything I would wish on anyone.

One example of how insanely stressful HW aftercare is: I had a case of him having coughed up a tiny bit of blood that showed up on a pillow case. I immediately took him to the ER and had him checked out, as it was after hours. The vet walked in the door, asked me about his treatment, gave him a shot, then looked at me and said, "you realize he can die at any minute due to blockages from the dead worms and you MUST restrict exercise!". I of course knew that but, that just sent me over the "freak-out" edge...

Anyway, he fully recovered but, as Crystal stated, you do NOT want to go through 8 weeks of this kind of stress when it's very easy to give the preventative, and a whole lot less expensive than the Immiticide treatment.

[107barney]

Sounds terrible
We do use monthly interceptor and test annually - and by Antech not in house snap tests. I hope when people on here don't listen about HW prevention you'll share your story again.

[Valenie]

What do you guys use? Ive been using Terminix.

[Britster]

Heartworm is sooo scary

team_sat - sounds like a terrible experience! I am so glad your Doxie is doing well now.

I keep Jackson on Iverhart Plus year-round.

[107barney]

Originally Posted by Valenie

What do you guys use? Ive been using Terminix.

Terminex? Do you mean you have your house sprayed? That's not enough fir heartworm protection for your dog -- you need interceptor or heartgard (or similar product) monthly to give your dog otherwise he/she isn't protected.

[OwnedByJezebel]

I thought Terminix was a pest control company, not a heartworm preventative?

[Valenie]

Sorry guys I used the auto spell check....Trifexis

[tem_sat]

Originally Posted by Britster

Heartworm is sooo scary

team_sat - sounds like a terrible experience! I am so glad your Doxie is doing well now.

I keep Jackson on Iverhart Plus year-round.

Thank you, but I am a big chicken when it comes to things of this nature. I am sure all of you would have maintained your composure and gotten through it all just fine. Yes, heartworm is scary and the treatment is equally scary. No one wants to pump their Yorkie, Doxie, or any other pet full of "poison" to rid them of this disease, however, simple monthly prevention will avoid the whole nightmare entirely.