Meet our newest pet of the month Journey! She is a 1 and 1⁄2 year old beautiful Border Collie. Journey’s favourite thing in the whole world is chasing after her ball. The good news is that she lives on a large farm property with lots of fresh air and open space to do just that. The bad news is that she shares the property with lots of wildlife and barnyard animals, which can increase her exposure to various diseases and parasites.
To keep her protected and allow her to continue doing what she loves, Journey is always up to date on her vaccines and takes monthly parasite prevention medication the entire year. In addition to this, she has her fecal sample tested regularly.
This year was the first time Markham Veterinary Clinic ran a new upgraded fecal test called Keyscreen GI PCR Panel that is able to check for the DNA of 20 different parasites in dogs and cats. This means we don’t have to see an actual parasite or egg in the sample to diagnose an infection, so it is less likely to be missed.
Journey tested positive for a small amount of giardia, which is a very common microscopic parasite. Since she was in good health , not a puppy and had no symptoms, her owner was instructed to monitor her stools closely for any changes. Within a week, her stools became quite loose and treatment for giardia was started. She recovered quickly and is now back to patrolling her property with her trusty soccer ball by her side.
Dr. Cathy Leung DVM
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