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A happy dog with white and brown fur looks through the bars of a metal kennel, mouth open and tongue slightly out, inside an animal shelter.
Our Programs

Healing Heartworm

Healing and Preventing Heartworm in Dogs

Why We Do This Work

A dog with heartworm is just like any other dog – they love to play, snuggle, and have fun. Unfortunately, due to the high cost of treatment, many heartworm-positive shelter dogs are overlooked by adopters, are not desirable for transport to other shelters, and never get help. In 2021, BISSELL Pet Foundation launched the Healing Heartworm program to save pets with the disease and prevent even more from contracting it.

How We Make a Difference

BISSELL Pet Foundation’s Healing Heartworm program brings hope to homeless dogs by providing grants to shelters for the testing, treatment and prevention of this deadly disease.

Healing Heartworm Impact

A simple blue and dark teal outline illustration of a dogs head in profile, facing to the right.

2,275

A green coin icon with a dark blue border and a dollar sign ($) in the center.

120

A simple, stylized icon of a house with a large paw print in the center, suggesting a pet-friendly home or animal shelter. The house is outlined in dark blue with a pink fill.

71

A green hand with an open palm holds up a green coin featuring a large dollar sign, symbolizing money or financial support.

$471,851

A circular badge with the text: Bissell Pet Foundations healing heartworm and Thank you BISSELL Pet Foundation for covering my heartworm treatment! A pink heart replaces the “a” in “heartworm.”.

Heartworm is a big, potentially fatal problem for dogs in animal shelters in the South. It drains the life force of dogs in shelters and the hope from the staff and volunteers who care for them. It breaks hearts physically and emotionally. BPF’s Healing Heartworm Program saves those lives and restores hope. It is a great privilege for us to be a part of this bold initiative.”

Main Line Animal Rescue in Chester Springs, PA

A tan dog with a very long tongue sits on green grass, panting happily. A person in black pants stands behind the dog, holding its red leash. A chain-link fence and buildings are visible in the background.

Meet Pluto!

The BPF team met Pluto at Beauregard Parish Animal Shelter in Louisiana. We transported all the pets out of this underserved, rural shelter, and while each pet is incredibly special, Pluto captured Cathy’s heart. While loading the pets onto the cargo plane for transport, Cathy felt compelled to provide extra care for Pluto and arranged for him to be taken to Harbor Humane Society near BPF headquarters in Michigan. After he tested heartworm positive, BPF awarded a Healing Heartworm grant to the shelter to begin treatment immediately. We’re happy to report he has since recovered, and because the cost of treatment was not a barrier, Pluto was adopted by a loving family.

Give today to help prevent the spread of heartworm.

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