West Seattle pet alert: Watch where your dog’s drinking

| Highland Park | Pets | Safety | West Seattle news

That’s Metro in happier times; he’s sick right now, according to his human companion Abby, who wanted to share this info with other local dogs and their people:

Our dog Metro has just been diagnosed with Giardia. While
we cannot be certain where he picked it up, we were recently at the Westcrest dog park (Sun. 1/11, Sat. 1/17 and Sun. 1/18) – his most favorite place in the world.

It is possible that my backyard or a puddle we encountered on a walk is the source of the offending parasite, but we wanted to remind the great folks at the dog park to be alert, especially to your puppy’s drinking sources. We’ll keep our puppy away from your dogs for a few weeks (much to his dismay). Just another important reason to clean up after the beasts we love and help prevent the spread of a yucky parasite to some unwitting and likely adorable dog. Happy walks–See you in a few weeks!

Abby also has posted this alert to the Westcrest Off-Leash Area mailing list, where one respondent has noted that the park’s water is off for the winter so “many dogs have been drinking from the drainage pipe next to the big tree.” Again, there’s no proof that Westcrest is where Metro got this parasite, but Abby wanted to suggest that dog owners be extra watchful. We’ll be checking with local health authorities to look for more information on how common this is and how best to take precautions.

d January 23, 2009 (4:34 pm)

Metro – sorry you caught a bag bug buddy! Hang in there pooch!

I’ve been wondering why the water is even turned off at Westcrest. Parks, after a number of years of advocating by the Westcrest Park Steward Steve, consented to install a new pvc water supply. I think a whole bunch of people believed the waterline would be kept on during the winter. Fresh water would reduce the dogs’ drinking out of fetid drainage pipes and puddles, one would assume.

Most regular dog park volunteers and users thought that the pipes were buried deep enough so that they would remain on during the winter. Perhaps that was a misunderstanding on the users’ part?

I look forward to what WSB finds out.

celeste17 January 23, 2009 (5:16 pm)

Poor Baby and not to be able to play with his buddies! :(

Mariah January 23, 2009 (5:26 pm)

I too go to Westcrest Dog Park, daily. My dog has not become sick and occasionally has used the mud puddles, to my dismay but “what is a mother to do?” :) My suggestion is to bring water with you. The water dishes are still available. I have not heard why the water is turned off but there could be many reasons why. I am sorry Metro is sick and hope he recovers.

j January 23, 2009 (7:18 pm)

Sorry that this has struck you. Our dog is a frequent visitor of dog parks and doggie daycare. She is treated about twice a year for Giardia. Our vet said it’s very common at shared public spaces for dogs. Between the prescriptions and a nice diet of rice and chicken, our girls usually gets over it in a few weeks.

BORN&RAISED WEST SEATTLEITE January 23, 2009 (7:26 pm)

What happened to the rain water barrel they use to have during the winter months??

k January 23, 2009 (8:27 pm)

Our dog frequently has had Giardia– usually from drinking from the saucers around the planters in our own yard. They can get it from any standing water. Our vet told us that for most dogs, if they get it, after the third time they build up immunity. Our dog is in the small percentage that doesn’t seem to do that.
Last time he was treated he ended up on Cipro, which they give people when they get it.

judyd January 23, 2009 (8:59 pm)

What are the symptoms of giardia?

Patricia January 23, 2009 (9:04 pm)

My dog Sumi has had giardia in the past, one of the sources my vet mentioned is the communal waterbowls that are everywhere. They’re out there with the best intentions, but if not changed often or used by others that are infected could potentially spread giardia. Sumi still drinks water in the streams in Lincoln Park, there’s just so many places that are possible host sites, hard to isolate them all.

BB January 24, 2009 (9:17 am)

pretty common actually. There are often NO symptoms. Remember that it can be passed to humans. Our dog has gotten it a couple times. He goes to Westcrest, day care, etc. We get tests done a couple times a year. Seems to be a better solution than not letting him socialize.

WSB January 24, 2009 (9:34 am)

Interesting to have heard, since publishing this, from some dog owners and experts saying “it’s incredibly common” yet others aren’t really aware of this … so glad to help raise awareness, and also glad to hear there are common treatments.
Re: symptoms, there’s a lot of information in the link you can follow from the word “giardia” in the story above (remember, blue text within any WSB story means it’s a link and will point you to more information) – also there’s a summary here:
http://www.critterchat.net/giardia_fands.htm
And even more info in this link:
http://www.woodhavenlabs.com/caninemedinfo.html#giardia
Thanks to everybody who’s shared info! – TR

Christina January 24, 2009 (12:20 pm)

This is interesting. My puppy also has giardia right now. He is a big dog park fan. He’s had it for two months now, and is on his second round of treatment.
He probably gets it from eating other dog’s feces though. If only everyone would pick up after their pooch, I wouldn’t have to worry about this.

Kathy January 24, 2009 (6:52 pm)

Both of our dogs had Giardia about 2 months ago. They had severe diarrhea (with blood – YUCK) and it was fun to come home from work to find the mess. A round of antibiotics and bland food fixed them up quickly though. We think they picked it up in our neighborhood (N. Delridge)since we don’t make it to the dog park much anymore. It’s everywhere and I also think some dogs are more susceptible to it.

Abby January 24, 2009 (10:42 pm)

Thanks all for your comments, good thoughts and tips.

JudyD — you asked about symptoms. Unlike most of the articles out there, Metro did not have the classic symptom of diarrhea. Instead, Metro stopped eating full meals if he ate anything at all. He regurgitated part of his dinner and was vomiting small amounts of bile. He was lethargic and mopey. We got him less than a year ago from ESRA (the Springer Spaniel rescue folks) and he had suffered from a serious case of pneumonia so any change in behavior raises a red flag for us and we’re at the VCA to see Dr. Waterhouse or Dr. Fukuzato ASAP.

He’s only a few days into the Panacur and Metronidazole routine (with an additional pill to help with his upset stomach) but I am hopeful he’ll be back to his lively, ball-obsessed self and romping with the other puppies at Westcrest in just a few weeks.

Mike January 25, 2009 (8:33 am)

Sorry to hear your dog caught the nasty bug.

Best bet is for people to watch their dogs closely and not allow them to drink water from shared water bowls or local creeks and ponds.

Bring a water bowl and some water to give your dog after a walk or time playing at the dog park. Go to Costco and get the Kirkland brand bottled water and keep a few bottles with a bowl in your car. It’s super cheap and costs way less than paying medical bills at the vet.

LisaM January 25, 2009 (8:09 pm)

Is the creek in Schmitz park safe? My pup drinks there all the time.
Thanks.

GenHillOne January 25, 2009 (9:21 pm)

Hope Metro is feeling better! Oddly enough, the only other time I knew of someone with Giardia it was a human – he had been camping and drinking from a stream. There must have been contamination upstream.