Mighty Mite-y!

On a veterinary-related topic, today at work I saw a little puppy for his first vet visit. He is a cute miniature schnauzer, and he had a dry patch of skin by his tail, very scaly. I decided to have a look under the microscope at the scaly-debris, in the hopes of finding a cause for the problem. Oh, did I ever find a cause:

Cheyletiella mites!

Close-up view of the head and mouthparts!

We don't often get such a great specimen, neither Angela or myself had actually gotten a positive diagnosis of Cheyletiellosis since vet school! These mites are surface mites (as evidenced by their long legs) which can be positively identified by their nice "waist" at the middle, and they also have a "fingerprint" appearance which doesn't show up in these photos but was very obvious under the microscope. This infestation can be quite itchy! Now that we got the diagnosis, its just a matter of a special shampoo and it should clear up nicely - all in a days work! Since it was such a rare occurrence, I had to take pics with my cell phone and post them here! Enjoy!!!! :)

PS -> If any of my readers remember the case of the Airdale terrier who had the uterine infection back a year or so ago, a bit of a sad update - she just passed away a couple of days ago at home, of old age (presumably). But we got an extra year and a half out of her, so I still feel quite accomplished at that!