Moshi

Moshi’s parents were worried about her because she had been having soft stool for the past week and just developed bloody diarrhea, so they brought her into our ER. We took a parvo test right away to make sure she didn’t have a serious virus, which was luckily negative.

Next, we looked at her stool sample under a microscope which revealed Giardia trophozoites (a stage of the life cycle of the parasite). If you picture a leaf falling from a tree or a dial spinning, that’s what these trophozoites look like!

This Giardia was super hardy because it was still moving around after a few hours (they typically stop moving after 15 minutes). If you’re not familiar with Giardia, it’s a parasite that loves to live in lakes, streams, puddles, and even melted snow. So keep your furry ones away from drinking bodies of water as well as eating other animal’s feces which may be contaminated with the parasite.
Giardia is a zoonotic disease, which is a fancy word for being able to spread between animals and humans, so make sure to wash your hands and any dirty blankets or towels if your little one gets diagnosed with Giardia. Moshi was sent home with an antibiotic and probiotic to get rid of the Giardia parasite and make her tummy feel better.