Tag: giardia

Goodness knows the lakes needed the heavy rains of the last two weeks, but I am ready for some sunshine, and so are our dogs and outdoor cats. I am seeing a lot of puddles, standing water, & soggy grass instead of rainbows. What I can’t see are some hidden dangers.
Leptospirosis- This is a common bacterial disease in our area. It harbors in the urine of wildlife, and can easily get into our parks and yards. Dog can get exposed by drinking the contaminated water or just even splashing in mucous membranes like eyes. This little spirochete then gets into the bloodstream and can cause liver or kidney failure. Symptoms include fever, nausea, diarrhea, yellow tinge to membranes, and death. And it can then be spread to humans if we get exposed to the urine of infected dogs. Cats rarely get this disease, but cattle can too. The local vet emergency clinic in Flower Mound routinely sees cases of canine Lepto. Fortunately there is a vaccine that we recommend for all dogs in our area, but it only lasts for year.
https://www.avma.org/public/PetCare/Pages/Leptospirosis.aspx
Giardia– All the wetness is a perfect place of lots of intestinal parasites, but especially giardia, which is a protozoa, not a “worm”. It causes mild to moderate diarrhea, soft or mucoid stools, gassiness, and is highly contagious. We see it mostly in puppies or kittens, or families that just got a puppy or kitten. It is highly contagious, and difficult to clear a household. It isn’t controlled with heartworm prevention unlike hookworms, roundworms, and tapeworms. Humans can get giardia too.
https://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/infectious-parasitic/c_multi_giardiasis
Mushrooms– We have all seen mushroom pop up in our lawns after rains. These are just the fruiting bodies of many types of normal fungus that live in our soils, not just one kind. Some can be poisonous (hallucination, excessive salivation, or liver failure), others just cause GI upset. It is best to prevent ingestion. I rarely see mushroom toxicity here in Lewisville. If you suspect toxicity, try to collect a sample of the mushroom when you bring the dog to the vet.
http://americanmushrooms.com/lawnandgarden.htm
Mosquitos (think heartworms)– Hopefully, we all know that mosquitos are the carrier of heartworms, and nasty little blood suckers too. This is another reason to keep your dog and outside cat on year-round heartworm prevention.
https://www.heartwormsociety.org/pet-owner-resources/heartworm-basics
Antifreeze– Good ole ethylene glycol that keeps our car engines from overheating in the summer, and freezing in the winter. Unfortunately, it has a very sweet taste that many dogs and outside cats like. Even a small amount of antifreeze is very toxic to the kidneys and usually causes death. Most of us are very careful if we change our own antifreeze, but it could be a problem in parking lots with standing water where someone else has dripped antifreeze on the pavement. Best not to drink from puddles.
http://www.petpoisonhelpline.com/poison/antifreeze/
see our Facebook page about cats hating to get wet
https://www.facebook.com/Garden-Ridge-Animal-Hospital-371475996712/