Shooo.....mosquito?

And the answer is....Mosquito! Heartworm disease is a potentially fatal disease of companion animals in North America. Spread by the mosquito, heartworms are parasitic worms that live in the heart, lungs and pulmonary vessels of dogs and cats. If left untreated, heartworm infection can lead to heart and liver failure as well as damage to other organ. Heartworm disease can affect dogs, cats, ferrets as well as foxes, coyotes, wolves, sea lions and even....HUMANS.

Mosquitoes play an integral part in the life-cycle of the heartworm - adult female heartworms living in a fox or dog produce microscopic babies (microfilaria) that circulate in the bloodstream. When a mosquito bites an infected host and takes a blood meal, the microfilaria are picked up as well. These baby worms then mature into larvae over the next 10-14 days. Then when that same mosquito bites its next victim (dog, cat or human) the infected larvae are deposited into the skin and enter the new host via the mosquito's bite wound. Once inside the host, it takes 6 months for the larvae to mature into adult heartworms. Once mature, adult heartworms can live up to 7 years in a dog or 3 years in a cat.

Each mosquito season means a risk to our companion animals due to the chance of becoming infected with heartworms. Even if a pet spends the majority of its lifetime inside, it is possible for an infected mosquito to gain access to the home and infect the animal. For this reason, we always recommend that our pets stay on heartworm prevention year-round