As autumn is barreling along in full force I thought I would take a minute to remind everyone that even though the call of the cicadas is winding down and the grasshoppers are taking their last leaps you MUST keep your dogs and cats on heartworm prevention and flea and tick prevention throughout the winter months. Here in Southern Illinois and Western Kentucky it is always mosquito season. Over the years I have seen mosquitos inside River’s Edge all year long. One year I even saw a mosquito inside an exam room on Christmas Eve! On days when the outside temperature is over 55 degrees those little blood suckers wake up… and they wake up hungry! In case you didn’t know, mosquitoes are the way heartworms are transmitted and as I just said, they can be active any time of year as long as the weather is warm enough. Therefore, we recommend year round heartworm, flea, and tick prevention. Fleas and ticks are still active in our region on the warmer days as well. My favorite heartworm prevention is the injectable Proheart 6 or 12 which provides excellent heartworm prevention for either 6 or 12 months. The best part about Proheart is that it relieves you of having to remember to give heartworm prevention on time every month and it protects them year round. In the 7 years we have been using the Proheart products, we’ve never had them fail!!! If you’re forgetful, like me, this is the best product on the market because you can’t forget to give it! If you’d like more information on Proheart, call the office and we will give you the scoop and get you set up for a Proheart injection. It can’t be beat!