Preventive care is so important for the health of your pet! By doing so you can prevent your dog from getting Heartworm disease, Lyme disease, and other diseases caused by ticks and fleas.

All it takes is an infected mosquito biting a dog and infecting it with larvae to cause Heartworm disease. The worms will mature inside your dog, settle in or beside the heart and can grow up to one foot long. It can take 7 months for a positive dog to be detected on routine testing. Heartworms can cause coughing, weight loss, kidney and liver damage, and can be fatal if not diagnosed early enough. However, Heartworm disease can be over 99% preventable with a monthly heartworm pill!

Ticks and fleas can also cause a lot of trouble for dogs. Ticks spread diseases such as Lyme disease and others. Fleas can cause intense itching and even anemia from blood loss.

The dogs that come into the care of the Wayne County Dog Shelter & Adoption Center need this preventative care. The Medical Fund is a great way to support these efforts, but PAWS has made it one of our 2022 goals to raise enough funding annually to provide this care for every dog that comes to the shelter.