I was playing fetch with my puppy earlier,  and after a few rounds,  I
saw what I thought was a worm attached to her foot.  I grabbed her to
take her inside to get it off,  and realized it wasn't a worm at all. 
It seemed to be more of a slug,  but I had never seen one like it.  It
was basically about the side of an earthworm (1.5 inches or so),  but
it has a bit of a flatter body.  It had a head that was round, with no
antennae. I picked it up with a paper towel, to look at it, and it
seemed to leave somewhat of a trail behind it, as most slugs do.  It
moved pretty slowly, much like slugs normally do.

I did a general search on the web to see if I could determine what
this thing was,  but came up with nothing.  I looked to see if there
were any pictures of slugs,  but I read that all slugs have antennae, 
which threw me.  My search led to "land/terrestrial leeches",  but I
am probably way off.  Can anyone shed any light on my mystery?

This occured on my lawn in the late evening, it rained earlier and the
grass was very moist.  I live in Austin, Texas.  In case any of those
details help.

Thanks!!

Hi feezlebub,

It certainly sounds like a leech took a liking to your puppy! I feel
certain it was a leech by your description, and not a snail or a slug.
Snails and slugs do have antennae!

You can see a picture of a freshwater leech here, and it does somewhat
resemble an earthworm:
http://www.fcps.k12.va.us/StratfordLandingES/Ecology/mpages/freshwater_leech.htm

Is it possible your leech was about to spawn?
?After leeches spawn, they die, so buy them as early as possible
before their natural waters begin to warm up. Once they warm up for a
few days, they will spawn and die. So if you see a white slime on
them, get them rinsed and cooled down as soon as possible because
they?re beginning to spawn and they will die very soon.?
http://www.driftbag.com/articles/Leech_Care_101.shtml

?Leeches are easy to keep alive. They are not as sensitive to
temperature changes as minnows, and they require relatively little
oxygen. Leeches can be kept alive until fall, even without food, but
they should be allowed to clean themselves. Leeches that develop a
slime on them are in need of a place to clean themselves. Leeches that
are held in stagnant water over long periods of time need to rid
themselves of waste and if they were in a stream or pond they would
burrow into the sand to clean themselves. Many anglers leave their
leeches in a plastic container in the refrigerator and find them in a
slimy smelly mess.?
http://www.dl-online.com/SpecialSections/Archives/SGAugust04/Stories/ReadyFish.html
http://www.invertebrate.ws/leech/index.htm

?A leech is a small invertebrate, a boneless animal, like a slug or
worm. It belongs, like earthworms, to a group called annelids. A leech
can change its shape from very flat to long and thin. It has no gills
because it breathes through its skin.
Leeches come in black, brown, green, and even red. Some have stripes
or spots. Leeches are about one inch long, but range in size from 1/4
inch to 12 inches long. The leech has two suckers. The large one at
the rear of the body is used to grip things. The smaller sucker in the
front serves as a mouth.?
http://www.youngbucksoutdoors.com/wildlife/030915YBLeech.html

Leeches in Texas
http://wildlife.tamu.edu/publications/a1101.pdf

"The snail leeches of the genus Glossiphonia are known to feed on snails"
http://www.jkoene.dds.nl/research.htm

Compare these photos of slugs to the link below, of leeches.(If the
links are still active, clicking on any thumbnail photo will open up a
larger version)
Slugs
http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&lr=&safe=off&c2coff=1&q=slugs&btnG=Search
http://www.altavista.com/image/results?q=slugs&mik=photo&mik=graphic&mip=all&mis=all&miwxh=all

Leeches
http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&lr=&safe=off&c2coff=1&q=leeches&btnG=Search

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&lr=&safe=off&c2coff=1&q=leech&btnG=Search

http://www.altavista.com/image/results?q=leeches&mik=photo&mik=graphic&mip=all&mis=all&miwxh=all

More leeches
http://www.biopharm-leeches.com/

Snails also have antennae
http://images.google.com/images?q=snails&hl=en&btnG=Google+Search

If any part of my answer is not what you  were hoping for, please
request an Answer Clarification, before rating. This will allow me to
assist you further, if possible.

Regards,
crabcakes

Search Terms
Leeches
Slugs
Snails
Leeches Texas
Slugs Texas
Snails Texas

---

Request for Answer Clarification by feezlebub-ga on 25 Oct 2004 10:40 PDT

Hmm-   are all leeches segmented as the picture shows?  This
particular creature did not have segments,  it was one smooth body, 
much like that of a slug.

---

Clarification of Answer by crabcakes-ga on 25 Oct 2004 12:05 PDT

Hi again feelebub, Thank you for the clarification. Knowing this
creature has  no segments rules out the leech identification! However
in some species of leeches, the segments are barely visible.
http://www.howe.k12.ok.us/~jimaskew/botzo/zophyla2.htm


"Leeches' bodies are composed of 32 segments. They all have a ventral
sucker formed from the last six segments of the body, and that is a
combination of mucus and suction caused by concentric muscles formed
from the circular muscles of the segments from which the sucker is
derived. Like earthworms, leeches are hermaphrodites."
http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Leech

Did it resemble a flatworm?
http://www.naturegrid.org.uk/biodiversity/invert/flatworm.html

http://web.bio.utk.edu/guffey/BiaB/Flatworms.html

A cestode?
http://utop.org.ua/service/h-img/t-crassiceps.jpg

Nematode?
http://flzhgn.home.mindspring.com/jpg_files/nema3.jpg

Roundworms
http://www.beaglesunlimited.com/Photos/CanineRoundworms.jpg

Hookworms?
http://www.sabin.org/images/worms_new.gif

Have you considered that this "creature" is an intestinal parasite of
dogs or other animals? Taenia oerhaps?
http://www.lander.edu/rsfox/310taeniaLab.html

Platyhelminth? (A form of flatworm)
http://cas.bellarmine.edu/tietjen/images/platyhelminthes.htm

Trematode? (Fluke)

http://www.chameleonnews.com/year2002/may2002/necropsy/15_fluke.jpg
http://www.cvm.okstate.edu/~users/jcfox/htdocs/Disk1/Images/Img0085.jpg

Pear Slug?
http://www.uidaho.edu/so-id/entomology/pear%20slug%20larva.jpg
http://www.uidaho.edu/so-id/entomology/sawflies.htm
http://extension.usu.edu/files/factsheets/Pear_Sawfly.pdf
http://www.museums.org.za/bio/insects/hymenoptera/tenthredinidae/caliroa_cerasi.htm

Not likely, but thought I would toss it in-grubs?
http://www.museums.org.za/bio/insects/hymenoptera/tenthredinidae/caliroa_cerasi.htm

Peanut worm?
http://www.wildsingapore.com/chekjawa/largfoto/s312ax.htm

Please let me know if any of these match! If not, I will search further.

Regards,
crabcakes

I was looking for what seems to be the exact same thing, and I also
did a search and this was the only thing I came across with the exact
description of what I saw. But, to the point, what I had found turned
out to be a Bipalium kewense, or Shovel-headed Garden Worm.

http://www.amonline.net.au/factsheets/shovelworm.htm

http://www.geocities.jp/at_mocha/mimizu/gtr2.htm

http://kenfuller.exactpages.com/ALplanaria0.html

Could that be what you had found as well? Sorry if it's not helpful,
but I thought that I should at least comment on that your question had
helped me find my answer, and help you if it was the same.

Thats it!!

Thanks for the comment!  If you post your comment as an answer, I
would gladly pay you for your response.  I tried for a long time to
find the creature, but eventually gave up.  Surprised to finally have
an answer after this long.  Thanks again! :)

Hi, I think this is what you saw, a Land Planarian, or Land Flatworm.  
Check out these sites...

I had the same problem finding out what I saw in early morning a
couple months ago until I saw something about flatworms on an animal
show today.  Hope this answers your question.          jnelg

Land Planarian (flatworm) - DirtDoctor.com - Howard Garrett - The ...
Land Planarian (flatworm). An unusual worm may be in your garden that you need
... It?s the land planarian, a slimy iridescent flatworm with a hammer head. ...
www.dirtdoctor.com/view_question.php?id=389 - 21k - Cached - Similar pages 

BugInfo.com - Pest management info for the homeowner from Univar USA
... however, and this is a strange flatworm called a Land Planarian. ... At that
point the Science Fiction Theater enters, as the flatworm actually feeds by ...
www.buginfo.com/bugsinhouse/worms2.cfm - 12k - Cached - Similar pages 

land planarians - Bipalium kewense Moseley and Dolichoplana ...
The land planarian Bipalium kewense Moseley was first described from a ...
A predatory terrestrial flatworm, Bipalium kewense, in Texas (USA) Feral ...
creatures.ifas.ufl.edu/misc/land_planarians.htm - 16k - Cached - Similar pages

Well, scratch the comment I left, was re-reading the posts and
realized that your question was answered, just that the creature had a
different name. Sorry about that.       jnelg