Dasher’s Warble Fly

This is pretty gross, but also interesting.  You have been warned.

I took Dasher to the vet this morning because he had chewed on a area of his skin to the point that it had a hole in it.  There was a knot in the area, and it was leaking green puss.  When we got to the vet, they clipped the hair around the area, washed it, then started feeling around.  “Looks like a warble”, he said, then I replied, “what did you say, a marble”.

“No, a Warble”

“What’s a Warble”

“Are you sure you want to know?”

So, the vet told me.  I was a little grossed out, and a little amazed.  Then he squeezed the knot like he was popping a pimple.  What happened next made my eyes pop out.  Out of this little hole came a worm.  Not a worm like an earth worm, but a big fat worm, like a grub, except it had an alien head and little hairs all around.  I took a picture.  He asked me if I wanted to take it home.  It was still alive, squirming all around.  I said yes.  They flushed out the the area by squirting stuff in the little hole and said, OK, he will be fine!  Turned out that hole in his skin was from the worm eating his way through, not from Dasher doing it.

The Worm - post eviction

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