Purrley,

I too asked a lot of dog owners and vets a LOT of questions about heartworm preventatives, and most times I was told "Oh, it's not a big problem here so it's not necessary." But even if heartworm isn't common in your area, it's still POSSIBLE to get it--and a dog with heartworm is miserable, the cure can be deadly, and it costs a small fortune to treat. Why risk it at all? K & E are both on Interceptor now, which also prevents intestinal worms.

In warm climates like ours the winters are too mild to kill off mosquitoes so we use the tablets year-round, and the only time we had to do the bloodtest (about $40) was when the dogs started Interceptor for the very first time. In the midwest and other places with very cold/snowy winters (Utah too, I imagine), you can use the tablets only in spring and summer, but you have to get the bloodtest done each spring when you restart the medication. Whatever method you follow, prevention is definitely the right way to go! All it takes is one little mosquito...
The website www.heartwormsociety.org is great--click on "canine info" for all the details.