gooeydog Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 How do you protect your own dogs from illness? I've been toying with the idea of trying to get a job at the SPCA or HS (when I finally get my license) for a while now, but I can't help but worry that I'll drag home some contagion and give it to our own dogs. My mom works at a vet clinic (bathing for a groomer, but has been a tech there in the past), so I know illnesses can be brought hom from there, but it seems the risk would be higher with a bunch of dogs of unknown/varied origin, past vet care, etc. So, anybody who works (or volunteers) in this sort of environment, is this a concern for you? And what do you do to prevent problems? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StarFox Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 I don't know about the shelter/humane society that you plan on working at but at the 3 hour Training Sessions that I had to go to we went over how to disinfect ourselves so our pets don't get anything. I also talked to my vet about brining something home that zebra could catch and he told me "It's highly unlikely that you would bring anything home and if your pet is current on all vaccinations then the possibility is miniscule. I'm more worried what YOU will catch like ringworm and mange." :o (my vet has gotten ring worm three times and mange twice in his 26 years working as a vet and his pets have never gotten anything) At the Humane society I work at they told us to wear a pair of shoes that you won't wear in the house. To always leave the shoes ouside or in the car. Don't wear any good clothes. Take off and wash your clothes as soon as possible. Wash your hands and any part of your body that came in direct contact with an animal. And use a special dissinfectant on our shoes called Lime-a-rix (I don't remember the exact name). So that's exactly what I do. I leave my shoes in the car, put them on when I get to the shelter. Wash my hands before I leave and spray my shoes. Take my shoes off before I get back in the car and put them in a bag. When I get home I put my clothes in the wash before I even touch Zebra, in fact I don't let him get anywhere near my while I have thoes clothes on. Then I take a shower. Honestly it is the biggest pain in the ass but I'd rather be safe then sorry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imported_Kat Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 Working at the veterinary surgery I was always really careful to wash my hands thoroughly before leaving the practice. If we had a dog in with parvo or another highly contagious disease then I would change my clothes and shower as soon as I got home before I touched any of my pets. When we had the foot and mouth crisis in N.Ireland a few years ago we had to walk through disinfectant at the door of the practice both leaving and coming into work and when we left we had to leave our scrubs at the practice to be washed before going home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahmyjoy Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 What I do...... Well Sarah is 2 and a half and Morgan is 6 years old and have had their shots regularly so they are healthy and happy. When I get home from work the girls are in their kennels. I just come in and say 'hey girls, ill be with ya in a little bit' and not touch or go near them. I go stright to the bath and wash up then toss my clothes in the wash. I use hot water, soap and clorox 2. At the shelter when I leave there is a mat 'footbath' with some stuff called veracon (sp?) that kinda sticks to your shoes and kills any germs on them so i dance on the mat before i leave so i dont have to do anything special with my shoes. I talked it the vet there and they said I was doing everything good and that any exposure they have since it was only a little will just help strengthen their system.... and they would have very strong systems.....so far so good and it has been about 4mo now.... Best wishes :lol: :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
__crazy_canine__ Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 Well since I dont have dogs I dont have to be cautious but I remember when I did go to the shelter I went with someone who had a dog so we bleached our shoes and changed clothes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imported_Kat Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 DO, I know what you mean about Lepto. I was also very careful at the surgery to wash up well when we had dogs in with lepto especially when in contact with their urine. I was so careful that I never managed to contract it from the surgery, but from rat urine on a university field trip from skanking river water that we were sampling :roll: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
courtnek Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 what are the symptoms of Lepto? I've heard of it, but never really investigated it.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imported_Kat Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 I contracted Lepto in september 2 years ago on a field trip with uni. I was fine after coming back then about 5 days later started feeling ill and had all the symptoms of flu. I went like that for a few days before getting worse and blacked out and my parents called the doctor out. He said I was very dehydrated with all the vomitting and diarrhoea (charming I know!) and because of the dehydration that was causing hypoglycaemia, and sparking off my heart condition (wolff parkinson white syndrome), so I reluctantly was admitted to hospital for i.v fluids. At first they thought it was just the flu as well with dehydration until I went kind of jaundiced :-? then when they started asking me questions if I had been any place exotic lately or working with anything exotic, I mentioned the field trip. They did some tests and discovered I had contracted lepto. 12 other students as well as 2 lecturers also got it and were given antibiotics. I stayed in hospital a while because my liver enzyme levels were high and my immune system was compromised from it. I am not exaggerating but I honestly felt like I was not going to make it. Even with injections to stop vomitting, I just couldn't keep anything down and was throwing up pure bile which was so gross. It left me weak after and I lost a lot of time off uni and had to put in a lot of hours to catch up. I still have checks 4 times every year to check my liver enzyme levels as lepto can be active up to 15 years. I do have a weak immune system now and tend to pick up colds and coughs easier not to mention the surprise chicken pox a few weeks ago (nobody else in the house got the evil things!). I'm really careful about trying to stay healthy as if the immune system is compromised, then lepto can appear again. I was told that echinacea and devils claw are really good for a heathy immune system so I take that as well as eating a lot of fruit and taking multi vitamins. Sander calls me a junkie because I take my vitamin, echinacea and devils claw drops, heart tablet and pill every morning lol. :lol: A few days before I went into hospital, Sander was diagnosed with glandular fever so there were thoughts crossing my mind that it could be that as we had been together a few weeks earlier and umm kissing :wink: DO the main symptoms are like flu. Feeling hot and cold and achy, vomitting, diarrhoea, weakness, jaundice, haematuria, liver and kidney failure in extreme cases just like dogs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ripley's Girl Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 I volunteer at a veterinary clinic 2 days a week and at an animal shelter 3 days a week, and I am PARANOID about bringing something home to my dogs. When I get home, my dogs are in their crates, and I go straight to the bathroom to change my clothes, the dirty ones go in a plastic bag and in the laundry room. Then I take a shower (Yes the vet and the shelter have to see me with my wacky morning hair :lol: ) and put on clean clothes. I am usually more cautious after coming home from the animal shelter, because there are SO many more dogs there, and they aren't as 100% meticulously clean as the Vet. Clinic. Also, at the VC, I don't spend as much time handling the animals (I do handle them, but not as much.) as I do at the shelter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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