Protecting Your Pets

Animals are in danger of contracting tick-borne diseases and indirectly exposing humans by bringing infected ticks into the home.  Tick-borne diseases in animals can cause symptoms ranging from lethargy and lameness, to paralysis and death.  Tick-borne diseases shared by dogs and humans are Lyme disease, Ehrlichiosis, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, and Babesiosis.

Regular tick checks for dogs and cats are as important as they are for humans.  Be sure to examine between the animal’s toes, behind its ears, under its armpits and around the tail and head, as these are common sites of tick attachment.  Use a brush to facilitate checks.  Check with your veterinarian for tick control products and/or a Lyme vaccine that they consider safe for your animal.

A great resource for information about tick-borne disease in animals may be found at www.dogsandticks.com, which explains that dogs are 50 to 100 times more likely to encounter disease-carrying ticks than humans. This web site provides tips on how to remove ticks properly, the symptoms of common tick-borne diseases in pets, photographs of ticks, and an interactive map showing the incidence of different tick-borne infections in dogs across the United States.

http://www.dogsandticks.com/NA-map-lyme-disease-dogs/index.html

The North Carolina Lyme Disease Foundation provides information about Lyme symptoms in animals at http://www.nclyme.org/petcare.html.