7 July 2021, Somewhere in the Metaverse - UplandDood (@Just1Dood)

Our days are full of surprises. Sometimes it's by choice, other times it's put on your laps. If you're not careful, an innocent outing could end up coming home with an additional mouth.

If you're not sure what I'm talking about, at least heed my warning...never underestimate the power of the Puppy Law.

The Puppy Law

Because of this Puppy Law, we ended up getting another stray puppy even though we already have a 2-year-old one, also a stray we'd taken in.

It started with a short trip to a cafe nearby on 30 June 2021. On the way back, we noticed a stray mommy dog with a litter of 7 puppies by the side of the road. We stopped the car and alighted. These puppies were probably about 4 - 5 weeks old. Herein lies the problem. The problem is that we have to deal with the Puppy Law. It's a law that applies to all who stop their car by the side of the road to look at puppies. It goes like this:

If you stop your car by the side of the road to look at adoring 4 - 5 weeks old puppies, you will end up going home with one!

This law worked like a charm on us. The mommy dog knew what was good for her litter. Once she noticed that we were mesmerized by her puppies, she decided to go for a walk. I could almost hear her thoughts, "Please help yourself to at least one. I'd be disappointed if you didn't. I'm gonna go for a walk now."

As if in a trance, we took one back to our car, which means back to our home. There were no cries from this pup. It's almost as if she wanted to come with us.

As we got back to our car, we noticed another car came up and parked across. A young lady alighted and walked towards that same litter of puppies. I laughed and thought to myself, another one bites the dust...sorry, I meant, another one fell under the spell of the Puppy Law.

Large Input

The first night was a day. Why? Cause it might as well have been a day. We didn't get any sleep. Every hour or so, she would wake up asking for something to eat. It got better the second and subsequent nights.

One thing that had not changed was her voracious appetite. Have you ever seen one of those vacuum commercials where the demonstrator used the vacuum cleaner to suck dirt, sands, pebbles, marbles, and even water from the floor? It was like magic. Now you see it, now you don't. Got the picture? Right. That was exactly how fast she ate.

No early bird

Well not exactly a flaw but it fits nicely into the headings. See, there was a reason for her voracious appetite. I should have suspected something when I realized that her output was so much less than her input. I mean, I've heard of people describing their stomach as a bottomless pit but this is ridiculous.

It occurred to me the reason why. This morning, she did something that we've never encountered since accepting her into our home six days ago. We heard a "coughing" sound. In fact, she was vomiting. When we checked, we found two curled-up worms on the floor in our living room. I assume they were dead cause there were no movements. I'm no worm expert so I really couldn't tell if they were dead or just not moving. I did take a photo of it. I wouldn't think you'd appreciate it if I posted it here for all to see. So, I'll keep it to myself and for my future reference.

Worms lead to Google

Any internet-savvy person who encountered what we did would instantly consult Doctor Google, our trusted and reliable 24/7 veterinarian. Outwardly, Doctor Google is better than any vet we know. It's free and you can research at your pace and to your heart's content.

If you rely on Doctor Google, then you have to realize that sensational posts, articles, images sell. The more sensational it is, the greater the potential for it to go viral.

Google led to fear

Now here is what we discovered (the horror story):

1. Normally a dog or pup would vomit worms if there were too many in the stomach

2. If you googled, you'll find images of vomited worms or worms in feces (it's gross)

3. We are concerned our current 2-year-old pup may get infected

4. These worms can pass on to humans! And they can travel to the head and brains!!!!!! (sensing fear compounding yet?)

5. Cases of worms being extracted from human eyes (OMG! Smoke is coming out of our fear meters)

You can't unthink that kind of image. My creative mind started painting very personal images I didn't like. Fortunately, my rational self took control and hammered my over creative minds into submission. Thank God.

Fear Hammered

Once the rational mind has taken over, the logical thing to do is to calm down and be rational, of course.

Our 2-year-old pup is already on a monthly Heartgard Plus tablet that helps "prevent heartworm disease and treat and control ascarid and hookworm infections". Instinctively, I thought of giving the young pup one of these. Unfortunately, it was too hard for her to chew, so we broke it up and mixed it with her breakfast. (Repeat The Puppy Maw, 2nd paragraph). In a matter of seconds, all were finished.

Output - Worms

Around possibly 3 hours later, I wasn't sure but I only found out 3 hours later. I found out she had pooped in the toilet. No, don't be silly. She doesn't know how to use the toilet. She'd pooped on the toilet floor. We'd put 2 pieces of faux grass (sounds like a delicacy I know. hehehe) on the toilet floor. Young though she is, she'd learned to go there to do her "business". Not all the time but when she can make it (i.e. not an emergency), she will. She is a fast learner.

Anyway, I noticed her poop looked different. Besides the normal brown poop, there appear to be tentacles coming out of it. Lots of milky pale tentacles. On closer look, she had passed out more worms. It was disgusting but I snap a photo of it. Again, I don't think you'd appreciate me posting it here. I'll keep it for my own reference.

Dr. Google - not good enough

Regardless of how great Doctor Google is, she can't treat our young puppy in person. I made a call to our local vet and had gotten an appointment for the next day. She's due for her first visit to the vet to get all the necessary shots.

I just pray and hope that we maintain some level of hygiene and preventive measures that these worms do not find their way to humans.

If you have effective solutions and preventions, do kindly share. Or if you have good recommendations on tablets for my puppies, do let me know in the comment section below.

Ending Thoughts

Remember the two photos of the worms I'm keeping for future reference? Here's how I'll use them. In the future, if I see stray mommy dogs with puppies at the side of the road, I'll pull the car to the side, pull out my phone and look at these images. That should effectively negate the Puppy Law and get me out of its hypnotic effect.

In reflecting on the event of the day, I'm glad fear didn't prevail and common sense and experience helped kept me calm. I look forward to tomorrow's appointment and hopefully get further reassurance from the vet to allay our fears of human infections.

Thank you for reading. Do share your own lessons learned in the comment section below your new ReadCash experience.

Stay safe and see you in the next article.

Sources:

Header: Unsplash.com - Robert Bye

Image 1: Unsplash.com - Joe Caione

Image 2: Unsplash.com - krakenimages

Image 3 Unsplash.com - averie woodard

Thank you again for dropping by. Have fun with English. Remember to share your experience in the comment section.

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