Heartworm disease: Do your clients understand the risk?

The biggest key to preventing heartworm disease is client compliance with year-round preventive products. Get the conversation started with a highly visual representation of the infection risk in your area from the Companion Animal Parasite Council (CAPC). In 2015, one in 78 dogs tested for heartworm tested positive. Putting the risk in concrete terms will not only make it easier for clients to grasp, but will also drive home your wish to keep their pet healthy.

Print and hang this handout in your exam rooms to start, and then take it one step further by drilling into the data for your state and county to share with clients. Click here for the printable version of this handout.

To find the data specific to your state and county, head to https://www.capcvet.org/parasite-prevalence-maps/ and select heartworm. You can then click on your state for stats about your state as a whole, and then click into the data for your county.