Cape Breton puppy diagnosed with heartworm disease
The Sydney Animal Hospital is recommending all dogs be put on preventative medication after diagnosing a six-month-old puppy with heartworm last week.
Heartworm is a highly infectious disease spread through mosquito bites where larvae from the bite matures into a worm that lives inside the dog's heart.
Charlotte Ramey, an associate veterinarian at the animal hospital, says the disease is potentially life-threatening.
Heartworm caught early
"You can potentially get things like cough, exercise intolerance. They may just not be able to run around as much … They may be collapsing periodically. In very severe cases they can die," said Ramey.
Although the disease was caught in the puppy before she started showing symptoms, she will still need treatment for a year. The hospital was able to catch it because the puppy was being tested for Lyme disease from a tick bite and when they test for Lyme they also test for heartworm.
The last detected case of heartworm in Cape Breton was in 2011. Ramey said that instance and the new case were both found in dogs from the Lingan Road area, which runs from Sydney to New Waterford.
'Something to keep an eye on'
Ramey says heartworm is an emerging disease for Cape Breton.
"We may not see an outbreak this year, but it's something to keep an eye on," she said.
The hospital released the Facebook statement yesterday and it has been shared hundreds of times.
The hospital has also started receiving calls from dog owners asking about preventive medication.
