Heartworm disease is disproportionately prevalent in shelter dogs from endemic regions, creating a welfare burden that prevention programs and affordable treatment can substantially reduce.
Heartworm in shelter populations creates a welfare inequality: dogs from endemic regions in the south disproportionately carry the disease burden, and adopters and shelters face difficult decisions about treatment cost versus euthanasia. Prevention programs that provide free monthly preventives to all dogs entering shelters from endemic areas represent a cost-effective welfare investment that prevents new infections. Standardized slow-kill treatment protocols allow shelters to treat heartworm-positive dogs while managing budget constraints, though melarsomine treatment remains superior for individual animal welfare.