Heartworms are transmitted via the mosquito. A mosquito first bites an infected dog, then the heartworm actually gets in the mosquito's body and reproduces, and then it is put back into another dog through injection.

Dog heartworm is caused by a parasite that lives in their blood and migrates to their heart.

It's usually very quick. Some of it's done in-house in our laboratory, and we can have it done in minutes. Sometimes we send it out to external laboratories, but it will return in a few days.

Good question. It depends on two things. Is your dog normal, is it sick, or is it getting better? Second of all, were there any abnormalities in that blood work? If there was, we'd probably want to recheck it after we do the appropriate treatment.

Possibly. That was just blood work. That was a CBC and chemistry, maybe a thyroid, but dogs often need fecal checks. They might need a urinalysis to check for diabetes, and it's checking the specific gravity of the urine. They might need cytology of their ears or their skin. So there are lots of types of tests that we do.

Definitely. Senior animals are more likely to develop diabetes, kidney failure, liver disease, or some other electrolyte problems, like Cushing's disease. So by checking it routinely, we'll be able to catch it right away.

We're careful about how we put him up here on a table. Emma was holding him securely and giving him a big hug. We have good lighting so that Kathy can see very well. And then, we draw the blood, and we try to feed them during the process so that they're rewarded for their good behavior.

Come over here, and I'll show you. This is our dog, Oakley, and he is getting blood work done today. You can take it from their neck or leg vein, and Kathy will show you how we do this. We insert it gently through the skin, and we have good lighting. We'll just be patient here for a second. Emma here was holding off the blood vessel, and we will draw just enough. Emma will be a bandaid, and Kathy will put it in our special tubes. Ethan's in charge of feeding Emma a cookie if he is a good boy. Emma will let him sit up here in a minute, and then he can have a cookie.

You saw us, and I think he forgives us for that. I know they're a little bit nervous, but I don't think that was a great deal of pain. It would just be like if we had blood drawn at a hospital visit ourselves.

Catching it early, having a great attitude, working together with your team, and trying to do everything you possibly can.