Adopting a rescue with roundworms?

Swimming-duck · 12-14-2011, 12:05 PM

I have a question. We have a meet and greet with a rescue on Saturday. I just got an e-mail from one of the adoption coordinators with the rescue that detailed the dog's vetting. She did say in the email that this girl we're going to meet has been dewormed twice, but the fecal still shows some roundworms. So she would need another treatment and another fecal exam two weeks after we get her. Is it normal for a dog to be adopted out while still battling roundworms or should I wait until the dog has a clean bill of health?

I've just never adopted a rescue dog before, so I don't know what's acceptable in the rescue world and what's not!

Kirska · 12-14-2011, 12:22 PM

I don't know about roundworms specifically but it is normal for a rescue to adopt out dogs that are currently fighting disease. Shelters will sometimes wait until a dog is healthy just because it's hard for a dog to fight a disease in the shelter environment so they are sent to a foster. Usually for a short term pre-existing disease the rescue will pay for the treatment.

I would ask your kids' doctor if exposure to a dog with roundworms is dangerous for them.

Soundtrack · 12-14-2011, 12:30 PM

Normally I would say roundworms aren't a big deal, they're pretty common (basically every dog is pretty much born with them) but since you have all those children there that are not yours I would wait until the sample comes back "clean" - AND I would suggest a fecal test every 6 months in any case (or maybe more often considering the kids), since dogs can pick up worms pretty easily.

FWIW, I would expect any puppy sold to be clear of worms - the breeder should have been treating from a very young age.

Swimming-duck · 12-14-2011, 01:36 PM

Thanks for the answers. I think the thing I was concerned about, since I've never worked with a rescue, is just whether or not it's a sign of a "bad rescue" or anything like that for them to go ahead and adopt out an animal that has worms. FWIW - I do think this is a good rescue from what I can tell. They check vet references, do a home visit, have you speak with the foster mom to see if it's a fit, and then a meet and greet prior to adoption. But I'm just trying to be sure every step of the way.

Soundtrack - I have been thinking about that. I did a little reading online and it sounds like it can lead to huge problems if a child ingests a roundworm. I'm going to talk to my hubby tonight and see what he thinks. Given the ages/personalities of children I currently have I'm not sure that it's much of a risk at all. I have no crawlers or early toddlers. My own baby doesn't scoot/move yet (not for a few more months) and the rest of my kiddos are 3 and over and have dogs/cats at home and would not touch poo. I'm also planning to potty dog in an area different from where the kiddos play. So I don't know - any thoughts on that? Given that info., do you feel like it would be a risk at all?

Wworm · 12-14-2011, 03:11 PM

Medscape: Medscape Access

yeah, what Soundtrack says, esp because of the kids. With worms, different ones pose different risks. like if the dog has tapeworms, it is pretty unlikely kids or people would get tapeworm from the dog.

but roundworms you have to be careful. they have been known to cause blindness, esp in kids, esp the 'kids playing in sandbox' scenario where a dog might have pooped. in general, it is good idea to keep kids away from dog poop. the article above describes the risk.

ah, i see you may not be able to access-- here it is:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Roundworm Transmission From Dogs to Humans: Risk and Prevention
Ray M. Kaplan, DVM, PhD
Authors and Disclosures
Posted: 05/16/2008
Print This

Question

Four days ago we rescued a 6-month-old puppy from a shelter in the southeast of the United States. My vet says that she has roundworm and warned me that my kids (ages 3-8 years) could get visceral larval migrans and/or blindness from it. How do I control the eggs that must be all over my carpets and thus all over the toys that the kids play with on the rug? What about my yard where she has stooled? And how long will she shed eggs?

Response From the Expert

Ray M. Kaplan, DVM, PhD
Ray M. Kaplan, DVM, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Infectious Diseases; Director, Parasitology Diagnostic Laboratory, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens

Roundworms (Toxocara canis) are common intestinal nematode parasites of dogs. The parasite is extremely common in puppies; however, a strong immunity begins to develop in most dogs by 2-3 months of age. Consequently, in well-cared-for pet dogs that have been dewormed as young puppies, infection is uncommon. But young dogs with suppressed immunity due to malnourishment or some other concurrent disease (such as is common in stray dogs) are likely to be infected. Roundworms have a complex life cycle; following infection, larval worms undergo an extensive migration through the liver and lungs before migrating back to the intestine where they complete their development and begin to shed eggs into the feces.

Once in the environment, it takes several weeks for the eggs to develop to the infective stage. Infective roundworm eggs in the environment are a public health concern because people that ingest these eggs can become infected with these parasites. But humans are not the normal host of this parasite; thus the worm does not undergo its normal migratory path and "gets lost" while traveling through the human body. Ocular larva migrans (OLM) occurs when roundworm larvae migrate into the eye; this occurs most commonly in children 6-14 years old. OLM is a very serious disease and can cause blindness if not promptly and appropriately treated. In children younger than 5 years, roundworm larvae tend to migrate in the organs, a disease called visceral larva migrans (VLM). Most children with VLM have no symptoms, but in a small percentage of cases in which large numbers of infective eggs are ingested, a variety of symptoms are seen depending upon the organ(s) affected.

Roundworm eggs are shed exclusively in the feces; therefore, very few eggs will be found in areas that are not contaminated with dog feces. Also, because it takes 2 weeks for eggs to become infective after being shed in the feces, direct contact with roundworm-infected dogs has very low risk for infection (risk is not zero, however, because small numbers of eggs have been recovered from the hair coats of puppies that are infected with roundworms). Consequently, even when there is a roundworm-infected dog in the home, areas inside the home will have very few, if any, infective roundworm eggs, and children's toys should be essentially free of infective eggs.

The importance of roundworm egg contamination of the yard is exacerbated by the fact that eggs can remain viable for many months (even for several years if in a protected location), and it is virtually impossible to kill the eggs with chemical disinfectants. Thus, the backyard is the major source of infective eggs to children. The eggs only can be readily killed by extreme heat (steam or flame) or long-term exposure (weeks to months) to UV radiation (direct sunlight). Therefore, sunny areas of the yard will become safe long before shaded areas. Once the yard becomes contaminated with roundworm eggs, there is little that can be done to remove or kill the eggs other than waiting for eggs to die naturally or physically removing the surface soil layer. Good hygiene, handwashing, and prevention of pica is extremely important in reducing the risk for infection on a contaminated property.

Because of the importance of roundworms to the health of both dogs and humans, veterinarians recommend that all puppies be treated at regular intervals and that all adult dogs be tested and treated as needed. The American Association of Veterinary Parasitologists, together with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, have issued recommendations to treat all puppies at 2, 4, 6, 8, and 12 weeks. It is also recommended to then place all dogs on a monthly heartworm preventative that also kills roundworms. Worms are killed rapidly following treatment with appropriate drugs, and treated dogs will cease shedding eggs within 2 days following treatment. Therefore, proper veterinary care of newborn puppies and immediate veterinary examination and treatment of all newly acquired pet dogs (whether strays or from another source), together with regular feces pickup, can virtually eliminate the risk for transmission to children in the home. Outside of the home (such as playgrounds), it is important that leash and clean-up laws are observed diligently.

Lucy&Millie · 12-14-2011, 03:13 PM

Given there are several children in and out of the home, I would wait to bring her home till she is 100%. I wouldn't say that being willing to adopt her out with the roundworms is a sign of a bad rescue. Its not uncommon for rescues or shelters to allow animals who are on the mend to go home. Generally, they will make sure you have all the medicine and they will want to check on her. Lucy had a mild respitory infection. Since I didn't have any other animals, they let me bring her home. However, I had to keep up her meds, and they paid for me to take her back to their vet to make sure all was fixed. That's not always the case with every rescue, but its common...

Good Luck!

Swimming-duck · 12-14-2011, 03:17 PM

Thank you for all of the feedback. I definitely appreciate your input and feel like you guys are all very right. I think if we adopted this girl, we would have to wait until she was roundworm free. Of course now that I've posted all of this, I just got off the phone with a foster mom for a different basset that I think is probably a much better fit! So we may be cancelling the meet and greet with this one anyways.

Swimming-duck · 12-14-2011, 03:19 PM

I will say, thank you for all of the roundworm information. I obsessively picked up poop after our Corgi, but after reading this, our dog will be pooping on leash outside of the fenced backyard area. I had no idea that the soil could get infested. So even if you pick up the poop there's a chance that a child who eats dirt (my four year old still sticks tons of stuff in his mouth - as I said he's part basset) could ingest roundworm. So I'm going to play it safe and have the dog potty in a little grassy area that we have in our driveway that's right outside of the play area.

12-14-2011, 12:05 PM	#1 (permalink)
Swimming-duck Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: IL Posts: 207	Adopting a rescue with roundworms? I have a question. We have a meet and greet with a rescue on Saturday. I just got an e-mail from one of the adoption coordinators with the rescue that detailed the dog's vetting. She did say in the email that this girl we're going to meet has been dewormed twice, but the fecal still shows some roundworms. So she would need another treatment and another fecal exam two weeks after we get her. Is it normal for a dog to be adopted out while still battling roundworms or should I wait until the dog has a clean bill of health? I've just never adopted a rescue dog before, so I don't know what's acceptable in the rescue world and what's not!

12-14-2011, 12:22 PM	#2 (permalink)
Kirska Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 932	I don't know about roundworms specifically but it is normal for a rescue to adopt out dogs that are currently fighting disease. Shelters will sometimes wait until a dog is healthy just because it's hard for a dog to fight a disease in the shelter environment so they are sent to a foster. Usually for a short term pre-existing disease the rescue will pay for the treatment. I would ask your kids' doctor if exposure to a dog with roundworms is dangerous for them. __________________ Mom to Anabelle and Lila, rescued ladies and Harley, Corgi/Beagle/Basset/?? mutt "Saving just one dog won't change the world, but it surely will change the world for that one dog." - Richard C. Call

12-14-2011, 12:30 PM	#3 (permalink)
Soundtrack Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Posts: 2,577	Normally I would say roundworms aren't a big deal, they're pretty common (basically every dog is pretty much born with them) but since you have all those children there that are not yours I would wait until the sample comes back "clean" - AND I would suggest a fecal test every 6 months in any case (or maybe more often considering the kids), since dogs can pick up worms pretty easily. FWIW, I would expect any puppy sold to be clear of worms - the breeder should have been treating from a very young age. __________________ Rosie-Ch Soundtrack Cracklin' Rose CGN AGN RA Am RN TT Melody-Ch Soundtrack Unchained Melody TT Sailor-Ch Soundtrack Expedition Sailor RN TT Chili-Ch Soundtrack Spice Up Your Life Curry-Ch Soundtrack Canadian Brass Pepper-Ch Pennieslogon Living La Vida Loca CGN Vina-Ch Soundtrack Grand Illusion Leila-Ch Soundtrack Almost Paradise Deela-Ch Soundtrack Wink Of An Eye Hermione - Soundtrack Spellbound Eowyn - Soundtrack Rain Dance Last edited by Soundtrack; 12-14-2011 at 12:36 PM.

12-14-2011, 03:11 PM	#5 (permalink)
Wworm Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Left Coast Posts: 1,969	Medscape: Medscape Access yeah, what Soundtrack says, esp because of the kids. With worms, different ones pose different risks. like if the dog has tapeworms, it is pretty unlikely kids or people would get tapeworm from the dog. but roundworms you have to be careful. they have been known to cause blindness, esp in kids, esp the 'kids playing in sandbox' scenario where a dog might have pooped. in general, it is good idea to keep kids away from dog poop. the article above describes the risk. ah, i see you may not be able to access-- here it is: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Roundworm Transmission From Dogs to Humans: Risk and Prevention Ray M. Kaplan, DVM, PhD Authors and Disclosures Posted: 05/16/2008 Print This Question Four days ago we rescued a 6-month-old puppy from a shelter in the southeast of the United States. My vet says that she has roundworm and warned me that my kids (ages 3-8 years) could get visceral larval migrans and/or blindness from it. How do I control the eggs that must be all over my carpets and thus all over the toys that the kids play with on the rug? What about my yard where she has stooled? And how long will she shed eggs? Response From the Expert Ray M. Kaplan, DVM, PhD Ray M. Kaplan, DVM, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Infectious Diseases; Director, Parasitology Diagnostic Laboratory, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens Roundworms (Toxocara canis) are common intestinal nematode parasites of dogs. The parasite is extremely common in puppies; however, a strong immunity begins to develop in most dogs by 2-3 months of age. Consequently, in well-cared-for pet dogs that have been dewormed as young puppies, infection is uncommon. But young dogs with suppressed immunity due to malnourishment or some other concurrent disease (such as is common in stray dogs) are likely to be infected. Roundworms have a complex life cycle; following infection, larval worms undergo an extensive migration through the liver and lungs before migrating back to the intestine where they complete their development and begin to shed eggs into the feces. Once in the environment, it takes several weeks for the eggs to develop to the infective stage. Infective roundworm eggs in the environment are a public health concern because people that ingest these eggs can become infected with these parasites. But humans are not the normal host of this parasite; thus the worm does not undergo its normal migratory path and "gets lost" while traveling through the human body. Ocular larva migrans (OLM) occurs when roundworm larvae migrate into the eye; this occurs most commonly in children 6-14 years old. OLM is a very serious disease and can cause blindness if not promptly and appropriately treated. In children younger than 5 years, roundworm larvae tend to migrate in the organs, a disease called visceral larva migrans (VLM). Most children with VLM have no symptoms, but in a small percentage of cases in which large numbers of infective eggs are ingested, a variety of symptoms are seen depending upon the organ(s) affected. Roundworm eggs are shed exclusively in the feces; therefore, very few eggs will be found in areas that are not contaminated with dog feces. Also, because it takes 2 weeks for eggs to become infective after being shed in the feces, direct contact with roundworm-infected dogs has very low risk for infection (risk is not zero, however, because small numbers of eggs have been recovered from the hair coats of puppies that are infected with roundworms). Consequently, even when there is a roundworm-infected dog in the home, areas inside the home will have very few, if any, infective roundworm eggs, and children's toys should be essentially free of infective eggs. The importance of roundworm egg contamination of the yard is exacerbated by the fact that eggs can remain viable for many months (even for several years if in a protected location), and it is virtually impossible to kill the eggs with chemical disinfectants. Thus, the backyard is the major source of infective eggs to children. The eggs only can be readily killed by extreme heat (steam or flame) or long-term exposure (weeks to months) to UV radiation (direct sunlight). Therefore, sunny areas of the yard will become safe long before shaded areas. Once the yard becomes contaminated with roundworm eggs, there is little that can be done to remove or kill the eggs other than waiting for eggs to die naturally or physically removing the surface soil layer. Good hygiene, handwashing, and prevention of pica is extremely important in reducing the risk for infection on a contaminated property. Because of the importance of roundworms to the health of both dogs and humans, veterinarians recommend that all puppies be treated at regular intervals and that all adult dogs be tested and treated as needed. The American Association of Veterinary Parasitologists, together with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, have issued recommendations to treat all puppies at 2, 4, 6, 8, and 12 weeks. It is also recommended to then place all dogs on a monthly heartworm preventative that also kills roundworms. Worms are killed rapidly following treatment with appropriate drugs, and treated dogs will cease shedding eggs within 2 days following treatment. Therefore, proper veterinary care of newborn puppies and immediate veterinary examination and treatment of all newly acquired pet dogs (whether strays or from another source), together with regular feces pickup, can virtually eliminate the risk for transmission to children in the home. Outside of the home (such as playgrounds), it is important that leash and clean-up laws are observed diligently. __________________ see what the Worm is up to: http://bassetworm.blogspot.com/

12-14-2011, 03:13 PM	#6 (permalink)
Lucy&Millie Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Indiana Posts: 270	Given there are several children in and out of the home, I would wait to bring her home till she is 100%. I wouldn't say that being willing to adopt her out with the roundworms is a sign of a bad rescue. Its not uncommon for rescues or shelters to allow animals who are on the mend to go home. Generally, they will make sure you have all the medicine and they will want to check on her. Lucy had a mild respitory infection. Since I didn't have any other animals, they let me bring her home. However, I had to keep up her meds, and they paid for me to take her back to their vet to make sure all was fixed. That's not always the case with every rescue, but its common... Good Luck! __________________ Lucy - Age 6? Millie - Age 2

12-14-2011, 01:36 PM	#4 (permalink)
Swimming-duck Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: IL Posts: 207	Thanks for the answers. I think the thing I was concerned about, since I've never worked with a rescue, is just whether or not it's a sign of a "bad rescue" or anything like that for them to go ahead and adopt out an animal that has worms. FWIW - I do think this is a good rescue from what I can tell. They check vet references, do a home visit, have you speak with the foster mom to see if it's a fit, and then a meet and greet prior to adoption. But I'm just trying to be sure every step of the way. Soundtrack - I have been thinking about that. I did a little reading online and it sounds like it can lead to huge problems if a child ingests a roundworm. I'm going to talk to my hubby tonight and see what he thinks. Given the ages/personalities of children I currently have I'm not sure that it's much of a risk at all. I have no crawlers or early toddlers. My own baby doesn't scoot/move yet (not for a few more months) and the rest of my kiddos are 3 and over and have dogs/cats at home and would not touch poo. I'm also planning to potty dog in an area different from where the kiddos play. So I don't know - any thoughts on that? Given that info., do you feel like it would be a risk at all?

12-14-2011, 03:17 PM	#7 (permalink)
Swimming-duck Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: IL Posts: 207	Thank you for all of the feedback. I definitely appreciate your input and feel like you guys are all very right. I think if we adopted this girl, we would have to wait until she was roundworm free. Of course now that I've posted all of this, I just got off the phone with a foster mom for a different basset that I think is probably a much better fit! So we may be cancelling the meet and greet with this one anyways.

12-14-2011, 03:19 PM	#8 (permalink)
Swimming-duck Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: IL Posts: 207	I will say, thank you for all of the roundworm information. I obsessively picked up poop after our Corgi, but after reading this, our dog will be pooping on leash outside of the fenced backyard area. I had no idea that the soil could get infested. So even if you pick up the poop there's a chance that a child who eats dirt (my four year old still sticks tons of stuff in his mouth - as I said he's part basset) could ingest roundworm. So I'm going to play it safe and have the dog potty in a little grassy area that we have in our driveway that's right outside of the play area.

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