Rubi
At the beginning of this week we noticed that our big dog, Rubi, was occasionally bleeding a little from her month. We thought she might have a dental problem, gum infection or had bitten her tongue, so we took her to the vets in Campohermoso. Rubi obligingly allowed her large jaws to be held open while Sara, the vet, examined her mouth carefully. At first, she could see nothing, but when she used a torch to peer into the darkest recesses, she discovered a leech attached to the lower part of the gum. The 2cm long bloodsucker was extracted with a pair of tweezers. She noticed that Rubi had several pale marks, one of which you may be able to spot in the photo, on her gums where the leech had attached itself.
The spring at San Pedro
This was the first time the practice had encountered a leech on an animal, so Sara asked us if Rubi had been drinking near a river or spring. We told her of our walk to San Pedro on Sunday morning and said that Rubi had drunk from the spring there. The vet had heard reports of this particular type of leech in San Pedro, so obviously that was where Rubi picked up the parasite. The squatters in San Pedro seem happy drink and wash in this spring. We would urge caution though.
