I get a lot of questions about what to do when a healthy dog tests positive for antibodies to Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacterium that causes Lyme disease. It happens regularly because this test is often run alongside blood tests for heartworm, whether we want it or not – it’s really just along for the
Cyclospora has been in the news a lot lately because of a large, ongoing outbreak of cyclosporiasis in people in the US. Total case counts aren’t clear (and official numbers are always lower than the true number of cases because of under reporting) but it’s estimated that well over 10 000 people have been
UPDATE: June 11, 2026. Nitenpyram has also been given emergency use approval (EUA) for dogs and cats over 2 pounds and 4 weeks of age.
While completely expected given the steady march of New World screwworm (NWS) through Central America and Mexico over the last several years, this horrific parasite finally crossed the US
As the weather (slowly and inconsistently) gets nicer here in Ontario, dogs start to go swimming more. My dog, Ozzie (pictured below), is an embarrassment to the Labrador breed as he will not swim, but he’ll happily wade through water, as long as his feet don’t leave the ground (but he still manages to get
A lot of interesting case reports get published in human medical and veterinary journals, but I always take case reports with a grain of salt. It’s not that I don’t trust the validity of the report, but there are those who may over-react to a single case. A publication about a single case typically signifies
I periodically get calls from concerned veterinarians (none recently from Ontario, thankfully) along the lines of “We did surgery on a dog with a liver mass that was diagnosed as Echinococcus multilocularis (EM). What is the risk to the staff and what do we do to decontaminate the clinic?”
Depending on how well
New World Screwworm (NSW) is a nasty parasitic infestation (with a very high ick factor) that’s back on the radar in North America, re-emerging after several decades of highly successful control and eradication efforts that had pushed its northern reach back as far as Panama. It has now made to back as far as northern
The other day, I did a half-hearted tick drag while walking Ozzie in our back field (yes, I know that’s strange, but let’s move on…). It was far from a professional job – just me dragging a blanket through the field as we walked, but it did the job. It quickly picked up a tick
I remember the first case of fly myiasis (aka fly strike, maggot infestation) in general practice. I was a very new grad called to look at a lamb owned by someone who had a few sheep. The complaint was that the lamb wasn’t doing well. It was laying down when I arrived and I grabbed
Tritrichomonas blagburni (formerly T. foetus) is a frustrating cause of diarrhea in cats. This parasite causes chronic diarrhea that will most often ultimately resolve on its own, but it can take months (or longer). During that time, most cats are largely healthy but with very messy feces (and they’re infectious). Some cats do feel
