Intestinal parasites
A parasite is an organism that lives on or in a host (dog, cat, raccoon, bird, squirrel, deer or human) and gets its ability to survive from or at the expense of its host. Parasites from our pets can cause disease in humans; some diseases are easily transmitted and easily treated and some are not, making them cases that require longer treatments and more follow up evaluations. The burden of working to prevent and, if needed, diagnosing these diseases is our duty to the health and wellbeing of pets and the people who own and love them.
Nearly 90% of the time, diagnosing an intestinal parasite comes from a microscopic evaluation of the pet’s stool. Yes, that is why we constantly ask for you to bring us poop! The other 10% is where we may run special tests or even send the sample to a special lab for testing.
When we receive a stool sample we visually evaluate the sample for obvious signs like small segments or actual worms. Each intestinal parasite has its own specific way of living and shedding so not all of our results are as easy as seeing what you’re seeing. Learn more through these up to date, interactive maps on parasites from the CAPC and help learn why we take such detailed steps for stool sample evaluations.
Prevention and control is our main focus here at Buckeye Veterinary Clinic. This begins with educating our owners and the community so you can understand how and why we test. The need for complete follow up from the veterinarian’s recommended treatments is very important and vital to the health and well being of pets and humans alike!