Paul Harvey is fond of saying that dentists are in the business of putting themselves out of business. The reason he says that is dentists are known as leaders in preventive healthcare.

A friend asked recently, on a visit to her place of business, how my day was going. Before I could answer, she said, "You probably don't have many good days, seeing sick and injured pets all day long."

On the contrary, most of the work we do is preventive in nature. We perform semiannual physical examinations to find problems before they have a chance to become serious. We perform vaccinations to prevent infectious disease. We test for heartworms and intestinal parasites so that, if any should appear, we can stop them before they have a chance to cause illness.

Of course, heartworm disease is a very treatable disease, in dogs, at least. Heartworm disease in cats is a very, very bad syndrome. But in both species, prevention is far preferable, is easy, monthly and affordable. There are even forms of heartworm preventive that both kill and prevent fleas and other external parasites as well.

A test is recommended for dogs on heartworm preventive. It should be performed every six months. An annual test is the minimum. Even if your dog never misses a dose of heartworm preventive, he should still be tested regularly. No medications are perfect, and even heartworm preventives have a small failure rate.

Intestinal parasites are a danger to your pets, as well as to your family. Hookworms, roundworms and Giardia are common parasites that infect people as well as pets. All can cause illness, such as diarrhea, vomiting and weight loss. In people, the larval stages of hookworms can cause lesions in the skin. Larval stages of roundworms can cause much more serious problems, especially if they migrate to the brain, eye, liver or other vital organs of their victim.

Giardia, a protozoan parasite, can cause chronic diarrhea, vomiting and weight loss in people and, in the worst cases, can result in permanent scarring of the lining of the intestinal tract.

Prevention of these dangers is multifocal. Pets may be given a medication to prevent intestinal worms including hookworms, roundworms and whipworms.

The ingredient can even be included in the heartworm preventive.

We all know and despise fleas. At least daily we still get a request for a "flea shampoo." It's important to recognize that bathing is not part of flea control. Even if you bathe your pet with a shampoo containing an insecticide, when you rinse off the shampoo, you've rinsed off the insecticide, too. Proper flea control can now also include flea prevention.

Two popular products that kill adult fleas and kill the eggs and the larvae of fleas are Frontline Plus and Revolution. Both are available for both dogs and cats. Revolution is also a heartworm preventive. Pets on Frontline Plus will need to take a separate heartworm preventive.

In cases of severe flea infestation, the premises will also need treatment. Don't think that just because you're not being bitten, you don't have fleas in the house. Fleas, like most parasites, are very species-specific, and would much rather feed from your pets than from a human. Fortunately, modern science has given us products for the home that will also kill adult fleas as well as the larvae and eggs.

Like dentists, your pet's doctor is doing his best to put himself out of business. You are our partner in prevention. Come see us, and let us help you make a plan to keep your pet free of disease and infirmity.