Parasites invade Dilly!

Illustration of the giardia parasite

Our sweet, fluffy blonde puppy has been invaded by tiny monsters. We found this out because our excellent vet, Dr. Kevin Scoggin, had a hunch Dilly’s fecal analysis should be repeated. (The one he had Saturday had come back negative.) I was skeptical, but Steve dutifully took in another stool sample yesterday morning. Bingo! This time, the more experienced technician who did the analysis found swarms of live creatures swimming on the slide.

So this, it appears, is the definitive answer for why Dilly had diarrhea, an affliction that made it necessary to take him outdoors to relieve himself several times a night. The diarrhea has improved, but the fecal analysis shows he still needs treatment for the active giardia infestation, according to our veterinary team. Giardia (which infects people too, mainly when they drink from streams contaminated by cattle feces) is a fairly common canine ailment, and an exasperatingly difficult one to deal with. You get rid of it in the victim by feeding them vermicides that kill the parasites without harming the host. This morning, we gave Dilly his first dose of Panacur, a powdery concoction that should clean up his gut within a few weeks. (We’ll have to repeat it for five more days, then have him rechecked later in the month.)

But besides living in Dilly’s gut, there is giardia in our environment now, we can be sure. We haven’t yet read the lengthy handout that came with the medicine, and frankly, I’m dreading the complex instructions for cleaning up Dilly’s fur, his bedding, the yard. It promises to be a lot of work.

Though I’m not happy my pup has been infected, it’s nonetheless great to get an explanation for what’s been wrong with him — and the hope that it will soon resolve. Dilly weighed more than 14 pounds at the vet’s yesterday. That means he’s gained about three pounds in the two weeks we’ve had him. With restored gut health, I’m optimistic he’ll soon be sleeping soundly every night. After my report about his first unbroken night’s sleep (Saturday), he did wake up at 4 am Sunday night. But last night he slept for 8 hours straight. That’s what I call normal, something that will be wonderful to have routinely back in our lives.

Too bad Dilly can’t just attack those parasites with his sharp little puppy teeth. He’s so good at that.