A parasite is an organism that lives on or in a host (dog, cat, raccoon, bird, squirrel, deer or human) and gets its ability to survive from or at the expense of its host. Parasites from our pets can cause disease in humans; some diseases are easily transmitted and easily treated and some are not, making them cases that require longer treatments and more follow up evaluations. The responsibility of working to prevent and, if needed, diagnosing these diseases is our duty to the health and wellbeing of pets and the people who own and love them.

Nearly 90% of the time, diagnosing an intestinal parasite comes from a microscopic evaluation of the pet’s stool. The other 10% is where we may run special tests or even send the sample to a special lab for testing.