One of our readers was walking her dogs when she noticed a pile of something on her paved driveway (photo shown above). She believed that the pile, which was the size of her hand, was composed of worms. These worms were about a centimeter long with a black dot on the end.

She explained that she is especially stressed about discovering this pile of worms because her dogs have been sick since they returned from the dog sitter. However, she got their stool tested and both samples returned negative results for worms. The vet explained that one of the dogs might have vomited up the pile, but our reader doesn’t think that could have happened. She checked the dogs’ mouths for worm remains and didn’t notice any, and she also thinks she would have realized if either of the dogs had thrown up. So, she doesn’t believe the worms came from either of her dogs, but she doesn’t know how this pile of worms ended up on her driveway out of nowhere. Her confusion is matched by her concern about her dogs’ ailing health.

We are pleased that our reader has already taken her dogs to see the vet. She mentioned that their stool was tested, but she didn’t say if they were tested for other illnesses or parasites. Physalopterosis, also known as stomach worm infection, is a gastrointestinal canine and feline illness caused by a parasitic organism. One symptom is vomiting up worms. However, typically there are only a few worms present, not entire piles. This is just one idea we had, but we have no way of knowing what is causing our reader’s dogs’ sickness since we are not veterinary professionals.

We recommend that our reader continue to monitor her dogs’ health and to take them back to the vet if she desires. Also, since they became sick after they returned from the pet sitter, it would be good to talk to the sitter about their visit with the dogs. Did they eat anything strange? Were they vomiting and having diarrhea then? The sitter might be able to provide some crucial clues.

In conclusion, one of our readers came across a pile of worms on her driveway. She is worried that they might have come from one of her dogs, since they are sick. We don’t know if they came from her dogs, another dog in the neighborhood, or something else entirely. There is the possibility that her dogs sickness coinciding with the discovery of this pile is just a coincidence. We invite any readers who have ideas about this situation to offer their stories in the comments section.

*This article was updated on September 9, to reflect that the worms were living, not dead.