We have some results from our visit to Bellalago's dog park today. We took some live video of our work and posted it to Facebook earlier. Please check out the video!
Bellalago's Dog Park
Fecal Float - no parasites seen in the samples (However, hookworms are likely still present as they were present last check.)
Direct - normal
NOTES: The drinking bowls at the dog park are not safe. They do not drain contaminated water. In fact, they add clean water to the dirty water in the bowl. Dumping out the bowls is not enough to prevent disease. Dogs drinking from these bowls are at increased risk for common water borne diseases like Leptospirosis and Coccidia. These diseases are spread by wildlife like birds and raccoons. There were birds present nearby.
Hookworms can be prevented with products like HeartGard, Trifexis, Sentinel Spectrum, or ProHeart 6. Having your dog on a preventative is important! Hookworms can be spread to humans! For more information, give us a call.
Coccidia is a tough one to prevent as it is so easily spread by birds. As birds often use water bowls and puddles as bird baths, dogs should not be allowed to drink from unclean bowls or standing water. Will result in diarrhea. Medical treatment is required.
Leptospirosis is another disease that can be spread to humans but it can be easily prevented by making sure your dog is up to date on their vaccines. Also, providing clean drinking water and bowls to your dog will help reduce the risk.
Prevention is the best strategy to keep your pet happy and healthy! Give us a call so we can ensure your pet's well-being before they head to the park!
Methodology: We ran 4 samples randomly selected from the many we collected. With each of the randomly selected samples, we did a fecal float checking for parasites. We also randomly selected one sample for a direct screen for bacteria and other microscopic issues.