When Did Dirt Grow Legs?

I don't understand why clients have to argue with me about whether or not their dog has fleas. I have actually been told from a client "my dog doesn't have fleas that is just dirt!" and my thoughts are "when did dirt grow legs?"

The picture to the left is a dog that I groomed today that the owner dropped off and said "my dog may have a few fleas. Can you please do a flea bath?" Of Course I told her yes. What I didn't know was that this dog didn't have a "few fleas" it had thousands. As I added water to the dog, that once clear water instantly turned blood red (fleas drink the blood from your dog and when the fleas relieve themselves that is just dried up blood). Immediately I applied the flea shampoo and lathered the dog up, waited the 5 mins it says before rinsing the dog, and when I lifted the dogs front legs this is what I found. All the little black dots are fleas. The fleas were literally jumping off the dog, to try to get away from the shampoo, and onto me. This is where I started to panic because I HATE FLEAS and I don't want them on me. I then had to do another flea bath on this dog and let the shampoo sit for 10 mins this time. With the amount of fleas that were on the dog I knew he had to be anemic. So I checked his gums and tongue and they were both white (they should be a nice pink color). Knowing that the dog is indeed anemic, I called the owner and told her she has to take him to the vet. I told her that she can bring the dog back when the vet says it's ok. A few hours later she called back wondering if she can bring the dog in to finish the grooming because the vet said it was ok. They ended up having to put the dog on iron supplements and treat the dog with a flea preventative that will last a month.

What upsets me about this case is the fact that this dog was literally being drained by the little tiny vampires that invaded his body. I have never in my 5 years of working with animals seen a case this bad before. I'm just glad she brought the dog in when she did because I was able to get her to take the dog to the vet. She realized that her "few fleas" could actually turn into thousands and almost kill her dog. Now she is going to take her dog home to her flea infested home and the dog is going to have to start this process all over again.

Please please please keep your animals (dogs and cats) on monthly flea preventative, it can actually save your pets life.

Call your local veterinarian and find out what is best for your pet.