Page 10 of Chasing Dreams at Wagging Tails Dogs' Home

‘Oh.’ Poppy swallowed. She’d known there might be something really wrong with him. Her aunt had warned her as much last night. Anyone only had to glance at him to know he’d have a fight on his paws at best. She wiped away a tear.

‘No, no. I’m not giving up on him. I’m sorry I didn’t…’

Mack placed his hand on her forearm briefly before looking down and replacing his palm on the table. ‘He has lungworm. And unfortunately, he’s suffering from a serious infestation.’

‘Lungworm?’ Was that it? ‘Isn’t lungworm common? I mean, they can pick it up from snails and slugs. That’s the one, isn’t it?’

‘It is. Dogs are usually protected from it as part of their worm and flea treatment, and in most cases where they do happen to miss a preventative treatment and pick it up, the next treatment cures the issue.’

‘In most cases?’

‘Yes.’ Mack nodded slowly. ‘In Dougal’s case, though, I imagine he has not been receiving his preventative treatment. He came into your care yesterday, is that right?’

‘That’s right. With the note I showed you. Saying that he was poorly but his owner couldn’t afford the treatment.’

‘Right. Well, he must have caught the lungworm a good while ago and so they’ve had the chance to take a hold of his body.’

‘The worms? So, he just needs worming treatment, and he’ll make a full recovery?’ That was simple enough. ‘I thought you said you had bad news?’

‘No.’

‘No?’

‘The lethargy, the lack of appetite, the weight loss and…’ Mack paused as Dougal began coughing. ‘And the coughing. All of these symptoms point towards severe complications.’

‘Really? And what does that mean? Can it be treated?’

She had a million questions spinning around in her mind. Taking a deep breath, she looked into Dougal’s eyes, which were dreary with a tiredness that could not be relieved.

‘There are treatments, yes. We’ll start him on a course of lungworm treatment right away, which he’ll likely have to take for a good few months. Alongside that, I’ll take him in and X-ray his chest. He has respiratory distress; we can see that due to his coughing and his laboured breathing. In severe cases, the lungworm can cause pneumonia, so the X-ray will help us determine if he has that.’

‘Pneumonia? You think he has pneumonia?’

‘I’m certain he does, yes, but we’ll give him an X-ray to confirm. We’ll also put him on oxygen, help him breathe a little better, and get some fluids down him too. Hopefully, make him a little more comfortable.’

‘But he’ll make a full recovery?’

Poppy met Mack’s eyes.

‘It would be unethical of me to promise anything. All I will say is I will do my darn best by him.’

Poppy nodded slowly. ‘Right. And what about the other dogs at Wagging Tails? Will they all catch it now?’

Mack shifted on his feet. ‘Lungworm is not transmitted through direct contact but it can be passed on through snails and slugs. So, if a snail or slug happened to eat his faeces and then another dog ate or licked that snail or slug, then it can be spread that way. Your best line of defence is to make sure all the dogs are up to date with their preventative treatments and to clean the kennel Dougal has been staying in and any other areas he has toileted.’

‘All the dogs have regular worming and flea treatment, so they should be fine.’

‘Yes, they should be completely fine in that case.’

‘Okay good, and Dougal will be too. I just know he will.’ She shook her head. ‘I just can’t believe he’s in such an awful way over something that can so easily be prevented.’

‘Unfortunately not all worming preventative tablets guard against lungworm. And some that do need to be given every month, not the standard every three months. And if that hasn’t been explained to an owner, then…’ He shrugged. ‘Dougal here should have seen a vet long before now. These things are easily treated if caught early, not to mention how miserable he must feel being as poorly as he is now.’

Poppy stroked Dougal’s nose, his eyes flickering open and closed. This could have all been prevented with just one tiny pill.

‘I know it’s tough seeing him like this, but he will get the treatment he deserves now.’

Poppy nodded.

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