Posted by When our miniature schnauzer puppy Maggie refused chicken and bacon we knew something was wrong. Two days later when she still wouldn’t eat or drink we became extremely concerned. We knew it was time to get her to a vet…ASAP!
There are a couple of veterinarians in San Juan del Sur, but sadly we are not confident in their abilities. After a desperate plea on Facebook for a recommendation on a trusted and skilled vet we were on our way to Multivet in Granada.
We were barely out of town when Maggie started to vomit. Things were going from bad to worse.
Over the course of the 1 1/2 hour drive Gordon and I hardly spoke to one another. We were fearful that we’d be making the trip back home to San Juan del Sur without our sweet little Maggie Mae.
After what seemed like an eternity we pulled up to the Multivet clinic. As I walked through the doors towards the reception desk with Maggie in my arms I felt a sense of relief. Somehow I knew we were in the right place.
Dr. Jose Antonio and his assistant Stephen escorted us back to the examining room. They examined Maggie with the utmost care. They conducted a blood test that ruled out Lyme Disease, Heartworm, tick parasites, etc.
Vomiting and diarrhea in dogs can be linked to a number of different things so the question now was,
“What exactly is wrong with Maggie?”
Thankfully three of the five vets at Multivet speak English. We have passable consumer Spanish, but our terms for veterinarian Spanish are severely lacking.
Over the course of the next two days we made an additional four trips to clinic, two of which were after hours. Veterinarians Jose Antonio, Stephen, Claudio and Faran worked in shifts administering IV fluids, nausea medication, antiprotozoal medication and antibiotics. At one point we had to leave Maggie at the clinic for observation for a period of four hours.
The veterinarian team concluded that Maggie had an intestinal protozoan parasite called giardia. They treated her with an medication called metronidazole.
Bit by bit we saw steady improvement in Maggie’s condition. We nearly jumped for joy when she finally accepted a piece of chicken and drank a bit of water on her own.
After spending three days and two nights in Granada we got the green light that it was safe to bring Maggie home. We felt like a huge weight had been lifted from our shoulders.
Total cost for treatment and medications was only $122.39 USD. We were blown away! Had we required this treatment in Canada I’m sure we would have paid upwards of $1000.
Words cannot express how grateful we are for the excellent care and attention Maggie received at Multivet. It is with the utmost confidence we are recommending each and every one of the doctors there.
The Multivet clinic is located in Granada on Calle La Islita near Hotel La Mar Dulce. Services provided include emergency and critical care, hospice and euthanasia services, surgery, x-rays, nutritional counseling, spay and neuter surgeries and dental care. Exotic animal care is also available.
To make an appointment call (505) 2552-1890 or send an email to multivetgranada@gmail.com. They also accept walk-ins.
To learn more about Multivet visit their website.
Photo Disclaimer: In our haste to get Maggie to a vet I did not pack my digital SLR that I normally shoot with. This extremely grainy photo was taken with our iPad.
I love hearing about your adventures and getting updates on life abroad. It’s great to hear that Maggie Mae is doing better and the cost for services blows me away. I am waiting for my son to graduate high school in 3 years and then start my new life abroad. Keep those posts coming. They make my day.
Michael B Schwartz
Good to hear that your dog is doing better. Giardia is also a problem where we live (Northern California) as we like to hike and swim in the lakes with our dog. You did the right thing in getting proper care as giardia can cause such server dehydration a lot of pooches can’t rebound. Luv your e-mails. Keep them coming.
Joseph
(from Northern CA and from Rancho Santana, Tola)
You guys have been there long enough, I’m amazed you haven’t had giardia yourselves yet. I always have tinidozol in my kit in case. Glad everything’s ok.
I’m so glad your little pup is feeling better–I can’t imagine how scared you must have felt on that drive into Granada! It’s also so reassuring to hear about the kind of treatment both pets and humans are getting in Nicaragua when they need help, and its affordability.
Wow, incredible, how low it can be. It is a lot more expensive in Canada. Just the medicine that we give our giant schnauzer cost well over 100$ and that does not include the visit to the vet.
So happy to hear Maggie is doing better. I’m googling about the disease right now. Glad to know there’s such a great place to go to, if our mutt has a problem.
Que linda historia. Me imagino que fueron hora de stress. Asi nos sentismos cuando amamos a nuestro pet y cuando de verdad nos importa. Que alivio para los padres!!
Felicidades al equipo por el buen trabajo que hacen en Multivet!!!!
Thrilled to hear that Maggie is doing well! It’s terrifying when they’re sick and you’re home – I can only imagine what you were going through!
The name giardia looked familiar. When I read your story to Craig, he remembered that last year, when we were visiting a tourist site by a river near Colorado Springs, there were warning signs not to touch the water because it was infected with giardia. So glad you saved that little one and averted a broken heart.
Linda was saying that Toronto beaches are closed because the water is infected as a result of recent flooding.
I’m so glad that everything turned out well for Maggie. It’s so stressful when there is something wrong with your pet and you don’t know what it is. I can’t believe the cost. We paid a lot more in Canada where just a routine visit costs $45 without any tests, IV etc. Having a reliable vet is so important to pet owners no matter where you live – glad you found this one in Granada and wrote about it.