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With so much rain around, the dreaded leech has emerged as a surprising summer nuisance. But you won’t believe where this dog had a leech stuck 😳
Here’s also how to remove any leech you find on your furry family…
No-one had the leech on their 2021 pet bingo card. But here it is. This long worm-like parasite loves the rain and so instead of finding them by creeks and waterways, you might also be (un)lucky enough to have an encounter that truly sucks just walking through forests. And since they’re attracted to heat and vibrations, dogs and adventurous cats are prime candidates.
Despite what you might have hoped, all that fur isn’t a fool-proof leech deterrent. In fact, they can still move across the body until they find a spot without hair and a good blood supply for them to suck onto. That’s why ears, lips, bellies and even lower legs and the area between toes can be popular areas for leeches.
But for Wellington the Spoodle, he clearly had no plans of going mainstream when a leech hopped onto him during a weekend trip to NSW’s Southern Highlands. In a move that will have all males crossing their legs, a leech crawled up Wellington’s prepuce (yes that pouch around his ‘lipstick’) and lodged there to suck blood. Ouch.
Thanks to some salt and some gentle persuasion, the leech was eventually removed by a local vet much to Wellington’s relief as that face shows.
For leeches in less sensitive areas, you can dab them with vinegar or tea tree oil to convince them to detach. Thankfully there are no serious health effects from leeches latching on. Someone really needs to tell Wellington and give him a treat. Stat!
