Your Pet Purchases can Help Feed Shelter Pets

PetFoodDirect is an online supplier of pet foods and supplies. They have a rewards program that allows their customers to help shelter pets.

Many pets end up in animal shelters for no fault of their own, sometimes a person got the wrong pet for their lifestyle, sometimes the owner had to move but could not take the pet with them. There are many reasons why cats and dogs are surrendered to animal shelters.

Most animal shelters are non-profit, they depend on donations from the public, government grants, and fund raising, to help provide food for their pets. As a pet lover you can donate to your local animal shelter at anytime. They always are happy to receive cash donations, and donations of pet food, however you might want to call first to see what they need. 

probably not what you think of when you think of feeding shelter pets!

Some of the things people often do not think about donating to an animal shelter, but that the shelters often need, are office supplies (paper, pens, etc.) and cleaning supplies (garbage bags, bleach, etc.). For pets, animal shelters often need blankets for the dogs, and toys. They can use old towels for their cats. 

Of course making a donation is not always possible but that does not mean you cannot help pets.

As a pet owner all you have to do is join PetFoodDirect's Rewards Program and you can help shelter pets as well as saving on money for your pet's food and products.

PetFood Direct sells great quality dog and cat foods such as Orijen and Wellness. They carry treats and flea and tick products, heartworm products (such as Heartgard) and even pet toys. They sell things for pet birds, wild birds, fish, reptiles and small caged pets. Their autoship program allows for further savings and convenience of not having to worry about running out of pet food.

What is the PFD Rewards Program?

With the PetFoodDirect Rewards Program every dollar you spend earns you reward points. You earn 15 points just for joining the program and if you sign up for autoship your points are doubled, plus you can get 300 points just for signing up. 

• 150 points = Donates 2 meals to shelter pets
• 400 points = Donates 6 meals to shelter pets
• 600 points = Donates 10 meals to shelter pets

Or you can use your points on your own purchases, 1,000 points can be traded in for $10 off your next purchase, or 1,500 points can be used for 25% off.

Here are some links you can click to get you started on your way to help shelter pets just when buying things you already need for your own furry friends!

Join our PetFoodDirect.com Rewards program and earn points with every purchase that can be used to donate meals to animals in need! Help those who cannot help themselves!

Save 15-25% off All PetFoodDirect.com Orders When You Enroll in Auto Ship! Convenient, Reliable and Worry-Free. Start Saving Today!

Get $20 Off Any Order $150 Or More At PetFoodDirect.com Today! Use Code PFDSAVE20!

Signing up for PetFoodDirect's reward program is free and I encourage you to take advantage of it to help animal shelters to help their adoptable pets.

 

Do Dogs Need Heartworm Medication in the Winter?

Heartworm is a very serious concern in pets. While cats also can suffer from heartworm, these pests are mostly associated with dogs. The treatment for a dog infested withheartworm is risky in itself so prevention is the best measure.

There are many medications that are used to prevent heartworm and although not terribly expensive the costs do add up, so reducing the number of treatments per year can have financial benefits to a pet owner. Additionally, and perhaps more importantly, there are concerns in regards to the over-medication of pets and potential risks (including cancer).

The question remains, should you treat your dog year round for heartworm or only in the months in which mosquitoes are active?

First let us understand how heartworm medications work.

Heartworm is spread to cats and dogs via mosquitoes. The mosquito must drink the blood of an infected pet and take up the very young heartworms at that time (larval stage 1) . The larva grow inside the mosquito and eventually travel to the mosquito's mouth and wait to be inserted into another pet. The heartworms develop in the pet's bloodstream eventually making their way to the heart. Heartworm prevention medication does not actually “prevent” the heartworm infections, but rather they kill the young heartworms at one larval stage which is about 30 to 45 days after the initial infection, but before the worms make their way to the heart. Heartworm prevention medication does not kill the mature heartworms in the heart.

In order for the heartworms to develop in the mosquito temperatures must be relatively warm. When temperatures drop below 57F (14C) the lifecycle of the heartworms in the mosquitoes is ended.

But recalling that the heartworm preventative medication is only effective on larvae that have been in the infected dog for more than 30 days, you can see that treating a dog in the fall (depending on how cold it gets in your area), after mosquitoes have died off, is still a good idea, however into the winter is not necessarily required unless you live in a warm weather area. As such if you live in an area where winters get cold you may find that you do not have to treat your dog with heartworm medication from December to February or March.

You may want to discuss the risks of heartworm with your vet before going on a heartworm medication prevention program. In warm areas where there are lots of dogs and mosquito's (areas with lots of water) the risk is certainly higher than in areas with desert conditions and a lower population of pets.

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If you are looking for places to buy heartworm medication for your dog (or cat) here are some great online places worth considering. They sell many other pet health products too and you should note that a healthy pet has a natural defense against heartworm.