The southern states are in heartworm territory, and that poses special challenges for animal shelters. In some shelters, more than half of adult dogs and an unknown number of cats are infected. The costs and logistics of dealing with testing, preventive medications, and treatment can be overwhelming.

In order to learn more about how shelters this heartworm-endemic area are coping with these challenges, veterinary student researchers Kiri Dunn and Kathleen Colby surveyed animal shelters and foster programs last summer. Last month, they presented their findings to an international audience during the 13th Triennial Symposium of the American Heartworm Society. In addition to teaching scientists and industry representatives about the plight of animals in shelters, Kiri Dunn was awarded top honors for her research project.

A total of 400 agencies that admitted cats and 504 that admitted dogs in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi completed the survey covering topics such as diagnostic testing, treatment of infected animals, and preventive administration.

A majority of the responses came from limited-admission shelters and foster programs than admitted less than 500 cats or dogs the previous year. Use of testing and preventives was very high among these groups. Although a smaller number of responses came from large open-admission shelters, these agencies cumulatively cared for more animals than the smaller agencies combined. The largest agencies were less likely to provide testing and preventive medication for all animals, citing cost as the primary reason. Some shelters attempted to control costs by substituting livestock ivermectin formulations for monthly preventives labeled for cats and dogs. Livestock formulations were used by 38% of agencies that provided preventive medication for at least some of their dogs and by 14% of agencies that treated cats.

These results indicate a lack of protocol uniformity among agencies and insufficient resources to identify, treat, and prevent heartworm infection. Shelters and companion animal health industries should develop guidelines that are feasible for use in shelters and provide improved access to preventive and treatment strategies for management of heartworm infection.

A selection of survey findings broken down by type of agency are reported below. Please attend our next Shelter Medicine Conference for a detailed look at current practices and practical guidelines to help shelters provide the best possible care for the pets in their facilities.