18% of dogs going into the shelter have heartworms. Here’s how shelters care for them…

February is ‘Have a Heart month‘ at the Humane Society of South Mississippi!

The entire month is dedicated to all the heartworm-positive dogs at the shelter.

There are currently 58 heartworm-positive dogs currently at the shelter.

Nearly 18% of dogs who enter the shelter have heartworms. This is because the parasite is spread through mosquitoes, so dogs that are outside without preventative are at risk.

These dogs typically live at the shelter four months longer than heartworm-negative dogs.

Here’s how the humane society is caring for heartworm-positive dogs this month.

St. Nick, an 8-year-old German shepherd mix, is one of the many dogs who will enter the shelter heartworm positive, and because of that, he’ll have a harder time finding a loving home that is able to get him the treatment that he needs.

However, at the Humane Society of South Mississippi, they are working to make sure that every heartworm-positive animal finds a loving home.

Heartworms are parasites that grow in the heart, and are spread through mosquito bites.

“If left untreated, it can cause the animal to go into congestive heart failure or die,” said Bianca Janik, director of operations at HSSM.

This is a fate the humane society does not want dogs to have, but it can cost the shelter up to $30,000 to treat heartworm through what’s known as the “fast-kill method”.

They rely on the slow-kill method, which is done by giving preventative so the heartworms die on their own.

Many prospective adoptees worry about bringing a heartworm-positive pup into their home, but these dogs still have so much life to live.

“Treatment has come a long way in the recent years, and going through treatment is such a short time frame of their lifetime,” Janik said.

The shelter has asked the community to help sponsor shelter dogs treatments, so they can experience a life heartworm-free.

“For the past six months, our shelter took initiative when we received a very generous donation of amortized, which is one of the medications used to treat heartworms. We have treated 33 heartworm-positive dogs as they resided in the shelter.”

If you can’t afford to adopt a heartworm-positive dog, then you can actually help fund Nick’s treatment and other heartworm-positive dogs by donating to the Have a Heart fund.

The best way to keep your own furbabies safe from heartworm is to have them on a monthly heartworm preventative – both cats and dogs.

And we all know mosquitoes will find their way inside, so even pets that don’t go outside need preventative.