Chagas disease, caused by Trypanosoma cruzi transmitted by triatomine bugs, affects dogs throughout the Americas with serious cardiac welfare implications and zoonotic risk to human owners.
Dogs with chronic Chagas-associated cardiomyopathy experience progressive exercise intolerance, arrhythmias, and heart failure - a trajectory of declining welfare without effective treatment options. The welfare burden is compounded by diagnostic delays, since clinical signs often emerge years after infection when cardiac damage is already extensive. Dogs in rural and low-income households in endemic regions face higher risk and less access to veterinary care. Welfare-centered responses include triatomine bug control in housing, serological screening of dogs in endemic areas, and honest quality-of-life monitoring as cardiac disease progresses.