County Center Animal Hospital

05/23/2026

County Center’s newest rookies🐾

05/20/2026

Happy National Dog Day 2026! Post your cutie rescues in the comments !

05/08/2026

The sweetest little cuddle bug!

Say hi to Katy👋

04/30/2026

As we close out the month of April we wanted to finish out our series on Heartworm Disease by talking about what heartworm treatment looks like. If your pet should contract heartworm disease there are many steps to what happens next. Although rare, if a cat should contract heartworm disease, there are not any approved treatments for them. Instead, your veterinarian will work to help manage their symptoms. For dogs, once they are known to be positive, they are placed on a strict/cra te rest protocol for several months while they undergo treatment. Currently, there is only one effective treatment for heartworm in dogs. It is a product called melarsomine, an arsenic based drug. Melarsomine is given 3 times over the course of two months via deep intermuscular injections along the spine. When these injections are administered, the exercise restrictions become more stringent.
Dogs undergoing heartworm treatment must be under strict activity restrictions, as each time the heart beats, damage is being caused to the cardio and pulmonary systems. In dogs known to be infected with heartworm, studies have shown visible damage to the heart within 3 months of infection. That is about 3-4 months before we can detect a positive result on a heartworm test!
Although heartworm treatment can be scary and takes several months to complete, treatment is highly effective and once treated, dogs are able to live a normal and fulfilling life!
For a closer look at what heartworm treatment looks like, here is a video detailing the process. Fear not! This story has a happy ending and the pet undergoing the treatment in this video is doing absolutely wonderful!

2 likes. "Goose's story (Heartworm Treatment)"

04/23/2026

We would like to take a moment to highlight the awesomeness that is Jess🏆, our CSR at County Center! 📞She joined the team last October🍁 and we have no idea how we made it so long without her! 🥳Happy 🐾Veterinary Receptionist Week🐾, Jess! You’re a rockstar ! ⭐️

04/21/2026

We hope you all are enjoying this lovely, warm weather! With our warm weather, we have been getting more calls to fill flea, tick, and heartworm prevention as we are seeing the ticks and mosquitoes coming out in larger numbers.
One of our most common questions regarding heartworm prevention is at what time of the year owners should start giving it. Our answer is always to give the prevention all year regardless of season. Why? According to research from the American Heartworm Society, we know that prevention given all year is the best way to protect our pets from contracting heartworm disease. If given to reflect seasonality we need to look at our temperatures rather than the amount of snow on the ground. However, even then we can find mosquitos inside. Anytime the temperature is around freezing or above mosquitos can be out. There have even been cases where researchers in New York found mosquitos in their house in December and January. The mosquitoes were tested and found to be carriers for heartworm disease!
According to the American Heartworm Society, if prevention is used seasonally, it needs to be given one month before potential exposure and one month after potential exposure. In Wisconsin our monthly average temperatures are above 30 degrees March through November. However, these are average temperatures so even in December, January and February we have days that are around or above freezing. This means that there is year-round potential for mosquitos to be out and infecting your pet with heartworm disease.
On average for medium sized dogs, the cost for a year’s worth of prevention is around $150. The cost of treatment for heartworm can cost 10x to 15x more than the cost of yearly prevention, and takes many months to complete.
Here at County Center Animal Hospital we have several options for heartworm prevention in clinic, such as Proheart, a once-yearly injection that covers prevention for heartworm and hookworms. Interceptor Plus is an oral chewable given monthly that covers heartworm and several other intestinal parasites. Credelio Quattro covers heartworm, several intestinal parasites, as well as fleas and ticks. There are many other effective options for heartworm prevention, which you can purchase from our online store. Take a look at the link below for a comprehensive list of clinically proven and tested prevention options, and choose what works best for you and your pet!

Founded During The Heartworm Symposium Of 1974, The American Heartworm Society Aims to further scientific progress in the study of heartworm disease inform the

04/17/2026

Perfect way to end the week!

Say “Hi” to Beta👋

04/16/2026

Meet Miss Sadie!

04/15/2026

As the weather starts to warm up and the mosquitos and other insects come out, we wanted to take some time to talk about heartworms and why it is important to have our pets on prevention all year. Throughout the rest of the month, we will have posts going over what heartworm is, why we recommend prevention be given all year, regardless of the season, and what heartworm treatment looks like for pets that contract the disease.
Heartworm is a progressive and deadly disease that is transmitted through mosquitoes that are infected with and carrying heartworm larvae. It only takes one bite from one mosquito carrying the parasite to infect our furry friends (dogs, cats, and ferrets). When pets are bitten by the infected mosquito there is a nearly 100% chance that an unprotected pet will contract heartworm. Because it takes a while for the heartworm larvae to mature into adult worms, it can take at least 6 to 7 months after being infected before a positive result can be detected on our tests. In that time, damage is already being done to the cardiovascular system. Once infected, the only way to eliminate the infection is to go through treatment with an immiticide. Treatment can take many months to complete and is costly financially - roughly 10-20x the cost of yearly prevention! Unfortunately, this treatment is only able to be given to dogs. There is not an approved treatment for cats or ferrets.
Heartworm is now found in all 50 states, regardless of climate. While some states (such as Tennessee and Texas) are notoriously high risk for pets contracting the disease, we do see cases in cooler northern climates. We are even seeing positive cases in Alaska! Last year according to the Companion Animal Parasite Council, Wisconsin had a total of 1,717 cases of canine heartworm and 11 cases of feline heartworm. This is only a fraction of the cases that we have, as not all positive cases are reported. Cases are steadily increasing each year, driven by climate changes and the movement of infected animals across the country. Additionally, unprotected pets that travel to high-risk areas and return home may serve as reservoirs, transmitting infection to other pets and wildlife, including coyotes and wolves.
If you have questions about heartworm disease or would like to get your pet started on prevention, give us a call!

Companion Animal Parasite Council | Parasite Prevalence Maps: https://capcvet.org/maps/ #/2025/all-year/heartworm-canine/dog/united-states