Heartworm disease causes severe cardiopulmonary damage and death in dogs but is entirely preventable through monthly medication. Treatment is difficult, expensive, and painful.
Dogs with heartworm disease experience progressive cardiopulmonary suffering that develops silently over years before obvious symptoms emerge. By the time clinical signs appear, significant damage has occurred. Treatment itself causes pain and requires weeks of confinement that is stressful for active dogs. The disparity between the ease of prevention and the suffering caused by disease makes heartworm a particularly preventable welfare problem. Rescue dogs from heartworm-endemic regions frequently arrive at shelters with active infections requiring immediate treatment. Regular veterinary testing and year-round prevention eliminate this suffering entirely.