Two months ago, I proudly brought a puppy into my home - a little sister for

my dog and cat. A week later after a visit to the veterinarian, I found that she had roundworms. She was isolated from her sisters, given a strong dose of medicine, and rechecked a week later only to find out she was infected with Giardia. She needed a dose of another medicine. My heart was breaking for my puppy. I came to find out that, despite the fact that I had not had issues with the older dog, these illnesses and parasites, along with salmonella, E. coli, and others, are all common for dogs. 

Giardia, salmonella, E. coli, worms, and other parasites and diseases are transmitted to animals and humans through ingestion of contaminated water. The water is contaminated by animal waste deposited by infected animals. Roundworms and hookworms deposited by infected animals can live in the soil for long periods of time. It has been estimated that a single gram of dog waste can contain 23 million fecal coliform bacteria, which are known to cause cramps, diarrhea, intestinal illness, and serious kidney disorders in humans. 

The melting snow this past week has revealed many abandoned dog excrement piles in Panther Valley. Many people are under the mistaken notion that snow and water wash away the droppings safely. Nothing could be further from the truth. Wet and cold conditions, for example, allow Giardia cysts to live in the soil for up to seven weeks. A pet eats the snow, laps outside water, or rolls in affected grass, or a person walks through the same. The organisms are brought into our homes on the pet's feet or fur, or on the bottom of our shoes. This leads to conditions that are rip for sharing diseases with not only our fur babies, but also ourselves and our children. 

Spreading of these illnesses and parasites can be minimized by picking up your dog's waste and washing your pet's paws and removing your shoes when entering the home. 

For more information, please refer to both the Centers for Disease Control (www. cdc.gov) and Environmental Protection Agency (www.epa.gov) websites. Thank you for keeping all of us healthy.