ticks, dog shows, and open houses

One thing I have learned about Vermont, there’s things that live in the grass! Mom calls them ticks, I call them ICK!

Wow, which line should I follow?

Lately when I go for walks I come back with these little flat crab looking guys that are attached to me and sucking my blood! Worse yet, dad says they could carry Lyme Disease which could make me really sick!

Wood Tick-not the most common carrier but you get the idea

So, you guessed it, I did a little webinar surfola! Lyme Disease is named after a town in Lyme Connecticut, where the disease was first discovered. Dogs are not the only things that can contract the disease, people do also! But the disease is very different between the two “species” (I have been learning alot of big words lately).

(this is a babe I met at the baseball game!)

When people are bitten by these little icks, a huge percentage (80) of them develop a rash or flu-like symptoms, then joint pain. A smaller percentage develop heart and brain issues. For humans, long-term, this is a very serious illness.

Dogs on the other hand don’t show any signs for months or even years after being infected. Usually arthritis (aching joints), sometimes fever. Heart and neurologic issues are rare. Symptoms respond rapidly to antibiotics. The most serious long-term threat is “Glomerular Disease”. This means your kidneys become damaged!

Petunia trying to look intelligent!

So dad says the ticks are out in force this year. Wet and cool weather is there favorite. He says you see the most ticks in the spring and fall because of their breeding seasons. Turns out in spring the female lays clumps of 2000 eggs. Small icky 6-legged larva hatch out and attach to a small host (usually a little mouse). If the mouse is carrying the Lyme Disease the larva becomes infected while it feeds on the mouse’s (meeses) blood. The larva then hide out until the following spring, grow and become a “nymph”! These larger tick babies then can select a larger host such as a dog (this is making me itch all over!). They feed (ewwww) for 3-5 days, drop off and lay dormant until late summer and fall when they become adult!

My sis was in a play and I played in the brook while she danced.

The good thing is (if there could be one) the tick must be attached for at least 48 hours to the host (me) to transmit the disease. Why you ask?

As the tick is sucking your blood it keeps that blood from clotting by regurgitating (barfing as my brother says) assorted enzymes from it’s gut. This is when the Lyme Disease is injected into the host (me). This does not happen for at least 48 hours so if you get the tick off quickly you wont get the disease!

Dad has been putting some stuff on me every month that either kills or causes the tick to drop off before 48 hours. You can get this at your vet office, there are many different names but they work pretty much the same. Look for Frontline, Vectra, or Revolution!

Moms still making Rhubarb Stuff!

So big news, the West Lebanon Feed and Supply store connected to Stonecliff Animal Clinic of New Hampshire is having their annual Canine Awareness Day this coming weekend (May 29th). It should be lots of fun with police dog demonstrations on how they catch the bad guys and sniff out drugs. These boys are the real McCoy!

If you miss them this time around, they will be at SAVES open house on June 26, 2010. That is turning out to be quite an event. Make sure you don’t miss it, a great chance to strut your stuff at the fun dog shows, try your paw at the agility course, dress up and parade around! I will be there definitely! Stay tune for more about the open house next week.

That’s me saying hi to everyone!

Walls are up at SAVES, things are moving very quickly now! They will be opening their doors to everyone starting on June 2, 2010!