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Heartworm: Explain It Like I'm 5
Short: Okay, I know this is a certifiably stupid question and I'm willing to take some flak for it if needed. Probably should be filed under "stupid questions 1st time adult pet owners ask." My dog probably needs to be tested for heartworms and put on a preventative, right?
Long: When we adopted Chessie from the shelter they sent us home with three papers regarding her vet visits: one is a spay certificate, one is a rabies sheet, and the last is from a vet exam and shows some vaccines (DHPP, Bordatella, Rabies) as well as Advantage, evaluation of her heart and lungs, eyes, etc.) There is no heartworm test in her chart.
About 7 days after we brought her home we had our first vet visit. Nothing was wrong but we wanted to establish who her vet was, have her spay incision checked out, and have them go over the paperwork to make sure there was nothing else we needed to do for her to have and keep a clean bill of health. I believe my initial inquiry was something along the lines of "We're first-time pet owners and want you to look at her and tell us if there is anything else we need to do or anything concerning on her paperwork." The vet sort of examined her, looked in her ears and cleaned them, clipped her nails, and said she was good to go. They charged us for the visit and we left. Not one word about heartworm prevention or testing.
We came back again about a month later due to the skin issue she was having. Vet did a skin scrape and told us she had no particular allergies. Told us we should switch her food to Science Diet for Sensitive Skin or something similar... we chose a better quality food than he recommended and called it a day. Prescribed her a steroid to stop the itching from the collar. We asked if there was anything else we should be thinking about since we'd have to pay for the visit anyways and it was the second time in a month we'd been there. They said no.
Now I'm reading the posts below about heartworm and kicking myself - I should have remembered we needed to do something about this. Maybe I am overreacting, but I'm kind of annoyed that the vet didn't say anything about it? I mean, obviously I take responsibility since she's our baby, but a little bit of guidance would be nice. Should I make another appointment for her to be tested for heartworm and put on a preventative? If so, should I say something about the many vet visits and ask what the office's general recommendation is re: heartworm and why no one said anything earlier? Or just suck it up and pay? We are happy to pay if it's what we need to do, but considering it's been over $200 worth of vet visits that last 10 mins each and the vet doesn't seem very proactive in examining anything without us prompting him I'm wondering if we ought to switch vets. Obviously there's a little bit more to the story/my feelings about the vet than the one thing, but I've already written a novel, so if you want to know just ask.
Otherwise, (tl;dr): Should they have mentioned something or am I wrong? And do I need to be flipping out now that something is wrong with our baby since she hasn't been on heartworm preventative since we got her 2+ months ago?
Re: Heartworm: Explain It Like I'm 5
Ditto LinZem that if you don't feel your vet is taking enough of an interest (just shuffling you through to collect a payment), look elsewhere.
How old is Chessie? Heartworms take about 6 months to develop (per my vet), so they don't even bother testing if the puppy is younger than that. They just recommend starting a preventative off the bat. My vet definitely talked to me about the need for these things. It's awfully crappy of yours not to do the same.
B/w 1/8: betas 17,345, progesterone 25.6
Breathe.
Heartworm is transferred via bites from infected mosquitos. As such, it isn't as prevalent in desertous climates, where there's less water for mosquitos to breed and they're less of a problem. This is likely why your vet didn't mention using a preventative, my vet in LA also didn't mention heartworm preventative.
Most likely your pup is just fine; when I lived in LA I had my pup on heartworm preventative for peace of mind. My thought was even if its unlikely that my dog would get heart worms, the consequences were severe enough that I felt better safe than sorry.
HLS: it's unlikely that your dog got heartworm from being off of preventative for two months in the winter in a desertous climate, but it's probably worth the peace of mind to get your dog on preventatives going forward.
Thanks for the responses. The shelter estimated that she's 1 year old, but she had puppies before she even got to the shelter, so it's possible she is a bit older than that. She was a stray until she came in, and was there for a month before we adopted her, so it sounds like she's old enough that they could have developed before we even got her.
We live in Central CA, but coastal, not really desert climate. Our apartment (about a mile from the vet clinic on the same road, so they are familiar) is in an area with lots of bird preserves, marshlands, etc.
I feel so bad that I didn't even know she was at risk. (Ahh, reading that I sound SO naive and stupid ugh
) I am definitely not 100% into the vet we have. We mostly chose based on proximity since we exclusively use the bus system and bringing Chessie on the bus is quite the ordeal! The first visit we asked the vet to check out a couple of things on her chart that we were worried about (luxating patella and hernia) and he didn't even do it. He just told us (without looking) that neither were a problem and to come back if it started to bother her. "Come back, come back" is all we hear from that office. I am getting sick of paying for repeat (short) visits when I feel like they should just do a thorough exam to begin with but I wanted to make sure I'm being reasonable since I do feel a bit like throwing a hissy fit right about now. 
Thanks! I definitely need a reminder to just chill out. We DEFINITELY have mosquitos in our area. And it's not even remotely cold this winter (it's been in the high 60s/low 70s pretty much all winter) and we have still freshwater marshes right next to our apartment, so I'm not sure I'm totally clear on risk.
Obviously for our own peace of mind (I may be losing mine!) we'll bring her in for a test and get her started on preventatives, but I am a little irritated to have to spend another $80 to bring her in for this if it's something that could have been mentioned from the start (keyword: "if" - obviously if it's really uncommon in our area I don't blame the vet nearly as much, but I guess I don't trust them to begin with or I wouldn't be so worried.)
You're being perfectly reasonable. Our vet's office has been more than happy to take the time to answer questions we have while we're there and to look at/check for any number of things that might be concerning us. When we took Zoey in last time for the mystery "bubble" on her tummy, the vet was happy to take a quick look at her paw pad (she'd cut it a week earlier) and an irritated/rashy spot on her leg. If they're not going to take the time to do something when you ask them to, they don't deserve you taking your time and spending your money going back for repeat appts. Find somewhere that CARES!
B/w 1/8: betas 17,345, progesterone 25.6
Thanks! Reading back over what I write it sounds like a crazy person has taken over my mind! I just love our little girl and want to do everything right. This board has been so helpful in terms of information - if we had to rely on the vet for, well, anything, we'd be in big trouble. We are going to seek out a new vet at this point. I don't feel like they have a good sense of individual attention at our appointments and I really can't figure out why, since whenever we're there the office is deserted. It's not like another appointment is waiting or something... and I guess after trying them out I can kind of see why!
You don't sound like a crazy person, you sound like a caring pet parent. Heartworms are enough to make anyone freak out. Good luck in the hunt for a new vet!
Thanks, everyone! You are so helpful! We will search for a new vet and in the meantime I think we'll just take her to the tech at our current vet to check on her HW status and get her started on a preventative.
I really appreciate all of your thoughts and suggestions - thanks for bearing with me as a frazzled newbie!