Does your dog Heartworm prevention?

Heartworm prevention has been on my mind this week, and it is not just because mosquitos biting. Merial, maker of the leading heartworm prevention Heartgard, accused of misleading veterinarians and pet owners about the product's effectiveness. Owens-Dr. Kari Blaho, says former researcher for Merial in Gwinnett County, Georgia, she was fired after she refused to destroy certain evidence. According to a story on wsbtv.com said "Blaho-Owens a supervisor told her to hush his own investigation, which showed Heartgard had a 20 percent failure rate." Blaho-Owens filed a lawsuit against Merial, claiming that the company intentionally withheld information about the potential inefficiencies of Heartgard.

I have been using Heartgard Plus numerous dogs in the past 15 + years. I have seen it prescribed for thousands of dogs in VET clinics where i have worked for years. I've never seen a case where a dog developed a heartworm infection, which were not related owns errors (e.g. forgetting to give the dose or dosing dog). This is not to say it is right to withhold evidence about the effectiveness of the product (if there was). But honestly, I can say that this matter will change my opinion of the product.

Whether you choose to give your dog Heartgard or one of the many other heartworm prevention products, just make sure you give something. In most of the United States been mosquitoes out in full force, nibbling away at us and our dogs. Mosquitos also happen to transfer heartworms, a serious parasite affecting the heart and lungs dogs (and sometimes cats as well). This life-threatening disease can easily be prevented by using heartworm prevention and have your pet tested annually to heartworms (a simple blood test).

Do you use Heartgard? Does this lawsuit to change your opinion of the product? If so, do you want to switch to a different product? Tell us why or why not by leaving your comments below.