Worms!!!

Well you know Roxie was a sick little puppy awhile back. Just as it seemed she got better, we left her with some greyhound sitters for a week long vacation. I was nervous. Her last full day at their house she ate part of their palm plant and threw up again. 4 days later she was back to dehydration, vomiting, etc. I was so nervous. We took her into the vet. They ruled out any sort of blockage, so we tested for worms.

She had been dewormed when she entered foster care through American Greyhound, but sure enough, the test came back positive for both types of worms she had before. That is, hookworm and whipworm. It was a relief to at least have an answer for why my baby was so sick. Stress can trigger symptoms of parasite infections, and lets face it, Roxie is chronically stressed. We did a round of worm medication, and a bolus of fluids inserted subcutaneously for her dehydration. They also sent us home with an anti-inflammatory and some forti-flora packets to give with her dinner to help her symptoms improve by restoring her gut to it's natural state. The medication got rid of the whipworm. We're still working on hookworm.

She's got 12 weeks of medication to take, the vet said it's the best way to kill the worms short of taking a blowtorch to them. She's not allowed to eat dirt (ew), not that we let her anyway, but she will occasionally try to eat some of the thick grass at the park. Since starting treatment, her symptoms have pretty much disappeared! Hooray! The only thing that still concerns me is her poop. It's pretty mushy. Although that's not uncommon of Greyhounds, so who knows if it's her or the worms at this point.

Hookworms and whipworms are non-transferable to humans from dogs. We're halfway through our 12 weeks of worm treatment. I'll keep you posted.

Let's all strive to live a worm free life!

<3 Mary and Roxie