When Falline Fate’s dog Ollie suddenly started showing signs of health problems she immediately took him to the vet for a check up. The ten year old Border Collie was experiencing mobility issues that were getting worse with each passing day. Seeing him struggle to walk and stand was breaking her heart and she was naturally very concerned about her pets health.
The reason for the dog’s rapid deterioration was a mystery, up until recently he had been active and healthy his whole life. The vet had found no indications of head trauma or broken bones and cancer was ruled out as well. Soon Ollie’s condition had progressed to the point where he was completely unable to move and he’d stopped going to the bathroom. With his quality of life so low and no improvement in sight, the Fate family decided that it was time to put him down.
They brought Ollie to the vet for his final visit and were waiting with him when an intern noticed a tiny black speck on the back of his ear. Upon closer inspection the spot turned out to be a dog tick. The doctor realized that the tick could be the cause for Ollie’s unexplained paralysis and within a few hours he had his answer. Ollie was rapidly regaining his mobility and already up on his feet moving around. His illness had been tick borne and he was finally diagnosed with tick paralysis.
Tick paralysis is an extremely rare condition that results when a lot of specific conditions are met. Only a few types of ticks actually carry and transmit the neurotoxin that causes the paralysis and it must be a female, on the dog for 5-10 days, and even then it may not cause anything.
Luckily the one on Ollie was spotted just in the nick of time and he was spared certain death. He’s now back at home living his old happy life and his story is getting out there so that others know the importance of thoroughly checking not only themselves, but also their pets for ticks. If you ever do find a tick, here’s how to properly remove it:
All you need is a cotton swab, water and good lighting. Take the cotton swab and quickly dip it in water to slightly moisten the tip, which will help make it glide smoothly along the skin. Place the cotton swab tip on the back of the tick so that it’s slightly angled, and not directly over it. Push the tick around in circles so that it rotates around it’s axis, or hypostome which is its mouth part. After about 3-5 rotations the tick should release its bite and back itself out of the skin. Now you should be able to pick up the tick with the end of the cotton swab and can dispose of it properly. Also, you’ll want to try and remove it as soon as possible, the quicker you can get its head out of your skin the better, because doing so greatly reduces the chances of infection.
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