Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Bongo and I am a 3 year old Border Collie. My human mama lovingly calls me her neurotic-hyperboy. BALL!!!
Ok, I must bark about my day. Let me first take you back to our family camping vacation. 6 moons ago, we all went camping. There were so many interesting things to smell and roll in and let me tell you about the delicious fluffy white treats that I would sneak off of a stick. Wow! Were they ever hot!! Anyways… I spent my days bounding around in the woods and meadows, having a grande ol’ time… SQUIRREL!!!
Fast forward to now…
My human was being a wonderful servant and giving me lots of glorious scratches when she started to eyeball my ear. WHAT? WHAT IS IT?! I could tell something was wrong. I could feel her stressing, so I started to chew the couch to make her feel better.
My furless mama then clipped on my leash and out the door we went. Oh the thoughts of all the wonderful adventures that we were about to BARK BARK BARK.. sorry… embark on. The next thing I know, we arrive at ‘that place’ and I was whisked into a room where I started to spin continuously because really, what else was there to do. Then it happened- the white coat walked into the room. She started talking to my mum and then they both looked at me. GULP!! I noticed a shiny apparatus coming my way. WAIT! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?
PLUCK
Then I saw it… Oh My Biscuits! I had made a friend and I didn’t even know it! The Doc mentioned his name was tick. Well, let me tell you what he said about Tick- I couldn’t believe my furry ears!
Did you know…
*Ticks are tiny 8-legged arachnids that are difficult to see because they come in many different sizes, even the size of a pin head! Wowza!
*They are often found in all the good places to play: forests and in long grasses! Like me, they love to come out and play in warm, moist weather like spring and fall. I love rolling in the mud!!
*There is one species of tick that you really don’t want to be friends with! Its name is the Blacklegged tick and it must love making friends with deer, because its nickname is Deer Tick. This little tick carries a nasty Lyme-causing bacteria called Borrelia burgdorferi which can cause many health issues and make my furry compadres very sick. All it takes is for this infected tick to attach and take a blood meal to transmit Lyme.
On the plus side, I did overhear that there are a few things that my amazing human can do to help protect me.
- When the temperature gets warmer, there is a tasty little treat from the vet office that will kill ticks when they bite me, before they have a chance to transmit Lyme.
- There is a Lyme vaccine to protect me
- Mum can carefully check me for ticks after every walk and to keep us on clear, unobstructed trails when hiking.
I wanted to stress, that all doggie mom and dads should have a play date with their veterinarian, to talk about which option is best for their fur babies.
So to conclude my barking, I have learned that I do not need to make friends with all bugs, especially ones that cling on and feed on you.
Yikes!!…. TICK!!!!
