Fecals? Why this time of year?
In the spring and summer, our clients and our staff are really good about remembering to have stool / fecal samples checked, monitoring for the presence of intestinal parasites.
It is easy to remember to check our pet’s fecal when we are also looking at the blood for Heartworm, Lyme disease, Ehrlichia and Anaplasmosis.
In the fall and winter, these things tend to fall by the wayside.
But why is it important?
Who remembers “Hartz Once a Month Wormer”? I do. Does that make sense? Yes, it makes so much sense that almost all Heartworm preventives also include Pyrantel and Praziquantel so our pets are protected against the intestinal parasites – Roundworms, Hookworms, Whipworms and Tapeworms.
But if we have pets that don’t take Heartworm and intestinal parasite medication at all or ones that don’t take it in the winter, this is a great risk. And it is not just for our pets.
IT IS FOR OUR KIDS TOO!
Children and adults who are immunocompromised with medical conditions are at increased risk of contracting intestinal parasites too. These are people on corticosteroids, with cancer, with HIV/AIDS and so on. And these parasites may not only be in the intestines. Sometimes they migrate through the body cavities, called visceral larval migrans, and the eye called ocular Laval migrans.
So remember to bring in your dog and cat’s stool samples so we can assure you and your pets are parasite free.
You don’t have to wait for an appointment, if you are worried, stop in anytime we are open and have this important test done for everyone’s health.