We understand that owning pets can be costly and that saving money where and when you can is important to you.   That is why we try to help our clients with rebates for qualifying products AND why we partnered with VetSource to have our own online pharmacy with lower cost items.   When products such as heartworm preventatives are purchased through a veterinarian or their website then they are covered by the Manufacturer’s Guarantee.

• What that means is if your dog gets heartworms even though they are tested yearly AND are on preventative year round, then the Manufacturer will cover the ENTIRE or PARTIAL cost of a heartworm treatment.  The reimbursement depends on the testing history as well as the purchase history.

Many of the Manufacturers will not honor their guarantee if the product WAS NOT PURCHASED through a veterinarian or their licensed pharmacy.  

• Before purchasing heartworm preventative online, check with the online pharmacy as to their policy for guaranteeing the products. Some online pharmacies will only cover the costs up to a certain amount, one popular site only covers up to $500 of a heartworm treatment.  While the cost of the treatment varies on the size of the dog, the average is $750-1000 per treatment.

We often are questioned why we REQUIRE yearly testing as well as 6m confirmatory testing if the dog is starting heartworm preventative for the first time OR restarting it after missing doses.  We do it not only for the health of the dog, but as well as to make sure that the manufacturer’s guarantees will be valid.    We want to protect you and your pets.

Another question that we are asked about is the slow-kill method of treating heartworms, people often asks about it due to the cost of a treatment.   We do not recommend or offer this treatment simply because the heartworms will still be alive in your dog’s heart and will continue to do damage to the heart until they die off.  The sooner the animal is treated for heartworms, the sooner the heartworms will be killed and the less damage will be done to the heart muscle.

We know that not all veterinarians require heartworm testing at all for their patients, and that some do offer the “slow-kill” method of heartworm treatment, however Dr. Arnold feels strongly in following our guidelines so that we can help care for your pets and help you to give them the best life possible.