MATTOLE SELF-SUFFICIENCY PROJECT

Tick Paralysis

Treeya (my 5-year-old dog) almost died yesterday morning--she was under my bed, stiff and cold, and her eyes were glazed over. When we forced her to get up and walk, her hind legs couldn't hold her up. Called the vet and he didn't know but for some reason said, "It couldn't be tick paralysis..."

So I searched her, pulled off about 6 to 12 of those dark brown, hard, designs-on-the-back sort of ticks that show up in the spring (remember last spring? There were tons of them last year). They are not the usual winter sorts of Deer Ticks. They always come off with a plug of skin in their mouths, and they're hard and flat when not engorged. At any rate, they were under her armpits and as I pulled them off I remembered that something similar happened last year, and that as soon as they came off, she regained her energy and normalcy.

Sure enough, yesterday morning, within a half hour she was jumping around, happy to be alive.

The scary thing is, the websites that I checked, say that if it progresses--if the ticks are not removed--dogs can die within 24 hours of onset of symptoms. Symptoms are the usual illness indicators, then, significantly, a paralysis that moves up the body from the hind legs. When it hits the lungs and heart, you are in trouble. The toxin is injected locally by the tick and quits poisoning once the offending ticks are removed. So check your pets, and if you ever see them looking dead, suspect Tick Paralysis.

I'm going to 1) Get Treeya and Bounder some Frontline, 2) Call the vet and tell him to be more aware of this problem.

---Laura Cooskey

Last Updated: 29 Apr 2005