NORWICH – This may be one of the worst years on record for ticks in the northeast United States and it’s keeping many local veterinarians on their feet as animal clinics take in more and more dogs that are testing positive for Lyme disease.
In June, Pet Street Station Animal Hospital on County Road 32 in Norwich notified dog owners via online social networking sites that it was taking in a growing number of dogs that were testing positive for tick-related illnesses, including Lyme disease, and encouraging pet owners to have their dogs tested and vaccinated for the disease.
“This year’s just been really bad so far. We are definitely seeing a lot more ticks than we use to and have had a lot more Lyme disease tests come back positive,” said Lisa Mullin, licenced veterinary technician at Pet Street Station. One dog taken in, she said, had as many as six ticks pulled from it within a 24-hour period.
According to Rebecca Hargrave, educator at the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Chenango County, a number of factors could be attributed to the increased presence of ticks this year, including a mild winter, an influx of invasive plants where ticks dwell, or even a decline in the amount of small rodents – like the white-footed mouse – that often act as a host for the tiny arachnid.
“I’ve had more deer ticks in my office this year than I have ever had,” Hargrave said, citing the growing risk of deer ticks in the area. Deer ticks – also referred to as “black legged ticks” – are the biggest concern among veterinarians and physicians because they’re the primary carrier of Lyme disease, and “gradually, over the past few years, numbers of them have been going up,” Hargrave added.
According to the Cornell University Department of Entomology website, deer ticks are often overlooked because of their small size, making them incredibly difficult to detect, particularly on dogs when they are surrounded by hair. Like humans, it may take one to two weeks before a dog exhibits symptoms of Lyme disease, which include flu-like symptoms such as muscle and joint pain and inflammation, a lack of energy, and fever.
Currently, there’s no known vaccination for Lyme disease, but it is treatable with antibiotics in humans and since it takes several hours for a tick to settle into its host and transmit a disease, there are ways to prevent ticks from infecting your dog, too, said Mullin. “There are vaccines. They don’t keep ticks off your dog, but it will protect them from Lyme disease,” she said. Popular medications include Frontline Plus and K9 Advantix.
Hargrave noted that while dog medications may not keep ticks off, they will kill them quickly. “That’s really the important part,” she added, “that the tick will not have the time to transfer the disease.”
Mullin encourages dog owners to check their pet for ticks regularly, especially after walking through tall grass where it would be easier for ticks to latch onto a host. If someone believes their dog has a tick, they are advised to consult a local veterinarian.