More than occassionally in veterinary practice we see cases that can be disgusting. Too often the vets and staff find them cool and interesting, while the owner may teter on the verge of passing out as they witness a disturbing spectacle involving their pet.

Such was the case when this extremely cute Lab puppy walked in to the practice. It was our first visit with the pup and he brought a guest along for his visit. The complaint of the owner was that they had been camping a few weeks previous and their dog had two draining lumps: one on the neck and one on its chest. I gave the dog a once over prior to diving into the major problems. The lump on the neck looked to be healing nicely and generally was of no concern. It was a small raised area of infection that was going to heal without any intervention from us, as long as the owner kept it clean and dry. One problem solved and one to go.

The next lump was on the dogs rib cage and from a distance did not appear to be anything special, although it was oozing some blood-tinged fluid:

Upon closer examination it became very obvious what we were dealing with as the lump had a hole in its center as you can see on this closer picture:

To many owners this would appear to be a small wound or abscess that wasn't healing right, when in fact it is an airhole for a creature living beneath the skin. The first time an owner, or new staff member, sees one of these they are rightfully disturbed. No one wants to believe their cute little puppy could be harboring a living parasite inside of its body. Fleas and ticks will make anyone itch and scratch just at the thought, but the first time you see one of these pop out of your cute little puppy you just might need to sit down:

This was one of the smaller cuterebras that I have removed from a dog; it was only about 1 cm long and a couple of mm's across. We have removed them much bigger, both in length and diameter. For any of you that fish, most of them remind me of a waxworm, whereas this one was more like a wiggler. For the non-fishermen this was just a bit bigger than a maggot with most of them being much bigger and drier looking than a maggot.

Many times these are rather difficult to extract because the airhole is usually smaller than the cuterebra. Unfortunately for this owner that wasn't the case. As I was explaining what we had, and how we were going to remove it, I placed slight pressure around the airhole and the grub literally flew out of the hole landing on the exam table, much to the owner's disgust and dismay and she scrambled for her chair.

A quick rundown on what exactly these are: they are larvae of a botfly. The flies lay eggs (typically around rabbit burrows) and the eggs stick to the fur of your pet. The eggs hatch and the larvae migrate to a location under the skin, creating the airhole to breathe as they grow. If left to fully mature the larva would eventually exit the dog, pupate on the ground and become a fly.

It is important to note that if you see this on your dog DO NOT squeeze the swelling in an attempt to get the larvae out. This particular case was rare in that the larva came out this way. Often times the air holes will need to be enlarged in order for the larva to be extracted. If squeezing is attempted often times the larva is crushed under the skin which can lead to a reaction and infection. When you find this type of wound it is important to seak veterinary care.