Lately I’ve been seeing lots of memes referencing all the canceled events, saying walking your dog isn’t canceled, cuddling with your dog isn’t canceled, playing with your dog isn’t canceled.
Another canine (and all pet) activity we can do while social distancing: Tick checks. I don’t want to add any more fear and stress to an already tough global situation, but I do want to share a scary and cautionary experience I had with my puppers.
A couple weeks ago, I noticed my 1-year-old rescue mutt, Stella, having trouble with her back leg. She’d had trouble with a front leg before, which usually passed in a day, so I thought I’d keep an eye on her but figured she was OK.
By the next day, she didn’t get up from her bed, and by late afternoon she couldn’t lift her head.
She was still eating well (I had to put food and water close to her head, but she ate her usual amount), and wasn’t whimpering, although she flinched when I first started petting her. I assumed she was in some pain, but it wasn’t horrific.
With no improvement by evening, I started preparing to take her to an emergency vet. Having no idea even what could be causing paralysis, I turned to trusty Doctor Google. I wanted to learn what tests to ask for, and try to narrow down the cause to save time.
I quickly came across tick paralysis. This occurs when a female tick (any of many species, including dog and deer ticks) release a neurotoxin in their saliva into the animal (or human) it bites. This toxin gets into the nervous system and causes weakness and then paralysis, starting in the back legs.
While typically not fatal, it can be if the toxin reaches the animal’s respiratory system — apparently this rarely happens in North America, but often does in Australia. The information I found reported that removal of the offending tick would cure the animal.
Some sites indicated the paralyzed animal would recover within hours of tick removal, and others said up to 24 hours. I decided to do a tick check immediately.
The hollow I live in must have a tick infestation, because I regularly remove many from my pets. On Stella’s important check, I found four latched and one crawling.
She seemed to love being checked — such thorough petting seemed to lift her spirits a bit. Removing the ticks did more than that; about 40 minutes after removing the yucky arachnids, she stood up.
It astounded me that she progressed in less than an hour from not being able to lift her head to fully standing and wanting to go outside for a toilet break. She was still weak the next day and a half, but then recovered fully.
I’ve often heard about the dangers of Lyme disease and “other tick borne illnesses.” This experience led me to more research. There are a handful of tick-transmitted diseases dogs can contract in our part of the U.S. Symptoms include fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, possible digestive issues and joint problems.
I definitely don’t want to add concern about yet another way we can get sick, but as many of us take to spending time outside with our families and pets, we should be aware of ticks, check ourselves and our furry friends, and educate ourselves on possible signs and symptoms.
That said, I plan to keep enjoying nice weather as it comes and recreating outside (at least 6 feet away from other people).
ALDONA BIRD is a journalist, previously writing for The Dominion Post. She explores possibilities of local productivity and sustainable living in Preston County.
