Tag Archives: giardia

Moose Gives Me Another Heart Attack

My dog Moose is what you might call “accident prone”. When we first moved to Oregon, he got attacked at the dog park and ended up needing stitches inside his ear. About a week after he got his stitches out, he slipped his collar and chased a cat into the street and got hit by a car. It’s been a while since we had an adventure — but he saved up a good one. On Sunday afternoon, I came home from work to find that one of the dogs had thrown up bile and blood clots in the living room. … Continue reading →

Intestinal Parasites: Giardia

While I was reading up on worms, I came across some other types of intestinal parasite. Giardia are single-celled organisms that can cause illness in pets and people. Symptoms of Giardia infection include: Weight loss — large populations of Giardia can interfere with food absorption Listlessness Diarrhea or stool that is soft, light colored, and greasy Mild anemia If your pet has had contact with dirty or potentially contaminated water or with animals with similar symptoms, you may want to have your veterinarian check for Giardia. These protozoans mature in stages. The inactive form — known as cysts — is … Continue reading →