Bowling Green Warren County Humane Society brings attention to Heartworm Awareness Month

BOWLING GREEN, KY.- Overpopulation with animal shelters and humane societies is a common issue found all over South Central Kentucky. The Bowling Green Warren County Humane Society is no different.

Lorri Hare, director of the Bowling Green-Warren County Humane Society says “Annually, it’s very typical for shelter populations to be high starting in the spring. Unfortunately, in the last couple of years since COVID, it’s almost been a year-round problem that our shelters and shelters around us and all over the United States are experiencing.”

The intake of animals is at record levels, this local humane society gets 30- 40 intakes daily. At the end of 2023, the humane society had 11,000 animals.

“That’s devastating when you open your doors and you’re full. The problem is there are too many animals and not enough homes. So the reality is until we get more people to spay and neuter, pets are going to keep flooding shelters everywhere.”

Brandon Taylor, operations manager says, “One in 24 dogs has the heartworm disease that we see here. So it’s pretty prominent and is a fatal disease. So it’s something we take very seriously.”

The number of illnesses that pets and strays bring is increasing, and heartworms, although they can be cured, are a serious matter that can be deadly.

Brandon also tells us how you can prevent heartworms, and the cause of this devastating disease is common throughout the majority of pets’ lives. He says, “Mosquitoes are very prominent in this region, anywhere in the south, southeast, and midwest and those parasites can grow up to a foot long. They look like spaghetti noodles, which, over time, can take over that dog’s heart or lungs and just simply put, shut them down.”

For more information on how you can get your animal spayed and neutered. Visit https://www.bgshelterpets.com/spay–neuter.html , or call your local humane society or your local animal shelter.