Preventative Services

Dogs and cats, especially here in the South, need protection from fleas, ticks, and heartworms.  There are a variety of products available, and we can help you choose the best individual or combination preventatives for your pets.  Read on to learn more:

Fleas

Have you ever suffered from a chigger or mosquito bite?  If so, you can begin to understand why your pets hate fleas!  Not only do they make your pets incredibly uncomfortable, they can be dangerous to both you and your pet!  These nasty little blood-suckers can cause serious allergies and skin irritation, and transmit tapeworms and life-threatening diseases.  You do NOT want them on your pet or in your home.

Fortunately, there are simple ways to control and eliminate them.  If you already have fleas, we can help you get rid of them, and we can help you choose the BEST and SAFEST preventative options for you pets to keep them from coming back!

Ticks

Unfortunately, at some point in our lives, most of us have found a tick, either on ourselves or our pets.  Ticks are even more dangerous than fleas, capable of transmitting a host of diseases, and the problem is that once you or your pet are infected, you are completely vulnerable.  This is truly a case of the best offense is a good defense.  Tick prevention is an essential part of your pet’s well-care!

The CDC currently identifies sixteen tickborne diseases that affect humans in the United States, and many of these can also affect your pets, causing lameness, stiffness and pain in joints, cardiac and neurological damage, breathing and bleeding disorders, and serious personality changes.

Check your pet daily, as some diseases require 24 hours to transmit from a bite.  When removing an attached tick, be aware that they can bury their heads under the skin, so make sure to get all of it to prevent additional risk of disease transmission and infection.

The simplest thing is to make sure that ticks don’t have the chance to attack your pet.  We can help you choose the right preventative to keep both your best friend AND your family safe.

Heartworms

You love your pets, and so do we, so let’s get straight to the point:  it is absolutely essential for your pet to be on a heartworm preventative! And since we live in SC, where mosquitos are just about big enough to saddle, and winter isn’t mean enough to kill them, that means your best friend needs to be protected all twelve months of the year!

Heartworms are transmitted to your dog or cat by mosquito bites, and can infect the heart, lungs, and blood vessels, causing a variety of symptoms that can be painful, debilitating, or life threatening, even with treatment.

Treatment for heartworms is FAR more expensive than prevention.  For dogs, the treatment can also be fatal.  For cats, there is no treatment.

The good news is that heartworm preventatives also protect your pet against a number of other parasites, and some even work against fleas and ticks!

Let us help you select the best preventatives to protect your pet from the discomfort and dangers of these parasites!