Heartworm meds - interesting article - big scam?

[bullseye]

Ran across this article and it really makes one wonder if the heartworm med industry and the vet have the best interest of your dog in mind or their bank accounts. It was portrayed to me as a "preventitive" and that is not the case. They also promote the annual blood test to see if the dog has heartworm when the meds would kill the worms if they did!! I have declined the blood test for the last couple years. What a racket. I have decided that a twice a summer medication will do the trick. I now have a 5 year supply!!!

terriermandotcom.blogspot.com/2008/05/billion-dollar-heartworm-scam.html

[bounce]

Yes the Vet industry has capitalised on the american pet fever lunacy that they "pets" are human.

[jimh]

thanks for posting that bullseye. i've always wondered if some of that wasn't being over stated.

[bullseye]

There is also a vaccination that my vet tried to get me to give our dogs for leptospirosis. Before I agreed I did some research. This is passed from the urine of primarily cows. So if you dog is not exposed to cows or plays in cow pastures or barnyards the chance of infection is extremely low. I also found out in my investigation that this vaccine has some of the highest incidence and severity of reaction side effects. It is actually the one that is the hardest on the dogs too..

[Purebred Redneck]

I know the entire medical industry is a racket (especially for dogs that cost 300 dollars), but I think the Heartguard chewables are one of those things that are worth buying.