The deer are back and Penny Lane catches the crud (warning....its kinda gross)

I have noticed, since I saw the mountain lion, that the deer have been scarce.  It makes sense.  mountain lions eat deer, deer smell mountain lion so deer go somewhere else.  The mountain must have moved up into the mountains because we had them everywhere this morning.

I had Penny Lane out for an early walk and she saw them before I did.

THE DEER ARE A BIT SMALL IN THIS AREA DUE TO THE LACK OF NOMS 

The deer hung around for quite a while and Penny Lane was great.  She was keen to investigate but she did not bark.

ANOTHER BEAUTIFUL CACTUS FLOWER

So, Penny Lane has been in a bit of a funk for a few days.  Without getting too explicit, I will say that her potty habits were off.  

I decided to take her to the vet.  She was acting fairly normal except for the one issue.

I called a local vet after getting a recommendation from my friend Kathy.  The receptionist at the vet's office was really nice and got us a same day appointment.

As is always the case, they wanted a poop sample.  UGH!

The only thing nastier than a poop sample is a poop sample from a dog with diarrhea.  

Penny and I made our way to the vet with bag of poop in tow.   Penny was all aflutter until we got to the door.  She, like most dogs, knows the smell and will going into reverse mode as soon as she picks up the "vet's office scent."

The tech and the vet were great.  They were very good with Penny and she got a good going over.  The vet and I discussed the possibilities and decided that the first order of things was to get Penny's tummy right.  We left with some meds and the vet said she would call with the lab results.

We went home and spent the rest of Wednesday taking it easy.

Thursday morning rolled around and the vet called.  Penny Lane was diagnosed with Giardia.

Giardia is a nasty little parasite that animals can get through water contaminated with feces.  Yep....poopy water.  Don't get me wrong, you cannot see the parasites but they are there.  I have since learned that it is fairly common in Arizona.

I drove back to the vet's office and picked up the medication used to treat Giardia.  As I was waiting for the meds, I was getting the low down on this nasty little parasite.

After a few minutes, the medication was ready and I was to administer once a day for five days. 

 Simple.

As I was leaving, the receptionist said, "Penny is your only dog right?"

Wrong.

Thus began the discussion about little Annie and her need for precautionary treatment.  Giardia is contagious and it is prudent to treat all animals in the household.

So, I have a Labradoodle with an active case of Giardia and a potential host who is Addisonian.  I asked the vet if she could prescribe the meds for Annie and, of course, the answer was no.  She would need for Annie to come to the office first.  Addison's dogs do not deal well with stress so i was hoping to avoid a visit to an unknown vet.

Crap.

I left with Penny and when I got back to Fort Huachuca, I stopped at the on post vet's office.  They had just seen Annie to refill her prescription for her Addison's meds and I was hoping they would prescribe for her.

Lucky me,  they were happy to oblige.  

I now had medicine for both my girls and I was headed home.

When a dog has Giardia, precautions must be taken. 

 First, both dogs needed a bath.  Not only did they need a bath, but I was to pay special attention to their anus.  In other words,  I had to wash their butts.  I figured that I might as well wash the whole dog while I was at it. 

Next, I needed to wash their bedding.  Giardia only lives where it is wet or damp but it is best to wash everything.

Third, all dishes needed a good cleaning.

I washed dog butts, washed bedding and washed bowls.  I also made a nice big bowl of boiled meat and rice.  I suspected this would help with administration of the meds.

Of course, Murphy's Law kicked in and my "eat anything" Labradoodle got the medicine in a nice powdery form and my "I am not eating that" Annie got horse pills.

Both of my girls seem fine.  They have had their first dose of their medicine and they seem ok with it.  I just put the powder in Penny's food and I mixed Annie's pill with water and then mixed it in.

Not necessarily a fun day but I did learn a lot about Giardia and my Penny is on the mend and I hope Annie never gets it.

ME HANGING WITH MY GIRLS

Another great day in this thing we call life.