NEW GLASGOW – A local veterinarian is warning people that dogs can be exposed to ticks carrying the bacteria that causes Lyme disease just as easily as humans.
Dr. Kathryn Finlayson of the East River Animal Hospital said she recently treated a puppy from the River John area after it was diagnosed with Lyme disease.
“We had a dog come in with a complaint that it just wasn’t acting like itself,” she said. “I did an examination and I found a tick on its front end and the owner said it had ticks on it during different times in the last month.”
She said the tick she found on the puppy wasn’t the one that gave it Lyme disease because it takes 24 to 48 hours for it to have its blood meal, but blood tests sent to Prince Edward Island confirmed that the dog did have the disease.
Lyme disease is carried by black legged ticks that inhabit grassy or wooded areas. When warm-blooded animals walk past these hot spots, the young ticks attach themselves to the human or animal and look for a place to feed.
On humans, the black legged ticks prefer the back of the knees, armpits or lower backs. On dogs and other animals, they usually go for the face or neck. A disease-carrying tick that feeds for 24 hours passes the bacteria on to its host.
In humans, symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue, stiff neck and soreness of the joints. If left untreated, symptoms can become more severe. Finlayson said symptoms are similar for dogs, which often become lethargic from the bacteria. Antibiotics are used to treat both humans and dogs and she said the puppy is recovering well from the disease.
“It’s important to check your pets when they come in from outside,” said Finlayson. “Check around their face, ears, chest and back and places they can’t reach themselves. People should be checking themselves as well and wear long-legged pants and shirts when they are out. This time of year and fall are the two worst times for them.”
She said there is also a vaccine available for dogs to fight Lyme disease as well as products that can be applied to animals. However, she said, never apply these products to cats without checking with a veterinarian first because some dog products can be toxic to felines.
Finlayson said there isn’t a vaccine for cats, but cats don’t tend to get as sick as dogs from the bacteria spread by the ticks. She added that cats are better groomers than dogs as well, so they are more apt to remove a tick themselves before it can get its blood meal from the animal.
“If you do find a tick on an animal or yourself, remove it and send it to the Department of Natural Resources for identification,” she said.