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> This message is in MIME format. Since your mail reader does not understand this format, some or all of this message may not be legible. --Boundary_(ID_PT3d0oQeu1wUTtug/RLf3w) Content-type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-transfer-encoding: quoted-printable I apologize for sending this twice, but the first time I forgot to remove the zillions of attachments that come from the Herald website. Jim Subject: Take time to check for ticks -- Lyme disease in dogs difficult to catch -- Herald, May 22/07 Chronicle Herald, Tues., May 22, 2007 =20 [box of information on ticks with the article] PREVENTION:=20 =95Check your dog over thoroughly after going for walks through tall grasses or in wet wooded areas. =95If you=92re really freaked out, just avoid those areas where Lyme-y ticks tend to congregate. =95Ask your vet about preventative medicines like Advantix or Preventix; beware, however, that these can be toxic to other pets in your house. IF YOU FIND A TICK: =95Put on disposable gloves to avoid any possible contact with the Lyme bacteria.=20 =95Use tweezers to get hold of the tick as close to the skin as possible. =95Pull the tick in an upward motion, slowly and gently, away from the skin. Don=92t jerk, twist or squeeze the tick. =95Use soap and water or hydrogen peroxide to disinfect the site. =95Wash your hands.=20 =95Record the location and date of the bite. Take the tick in a sealed bottle or bag to your nearest Natural Resources Department office, or the Museum o= f Natural History in Halifax to get it [identified and] tested for any disease.=20 =95Call your vet immediately if your pet has been bitten, or your family doctor if you think you or another family member has been affected. Source: Dr. Jeff Goodall, Sunnyview Animal Care Centre in Bedford -------------------- Take time to check for ticks Lyme disease in dogs difficult to catch By RICK CONRAD -- Petpourri AT LEAST ONE vet in metro Halifax has sent a warning to his clients of a possible outbreak of Lyme disease in the Bedford/Sackville/Fall River area. Jeff Goodall at the Sunnyview Animal Care Centre in Bedford says he doesn=92t want to fear-monger. He just wants people with dogs to be aware of the potential problem. He sent a letter to his clinic=92s 950 clients with dogs o= n May 1 to warn them to be on the lookout for ticks. A few weeks ago, a vet in Cape Breton found two positive cases of Lyme disease on dogs in that area. And it=92s been known for a while that there ar= e Lyme hot spots in Lunenburg County. So Lyme disease is a reality in Nova Scotia, even for our pets. Dogs, if bitten, are 50 per cent more likely to develop the disease than humans, but it=92s more difficult to catch because they=92re unlikely to show any symptoms for up to three years, Goodall says. "We now know that one in 10 ticks in the Admirals Cove area carries Lyme," Goodall said in an interview. "In the last few years, we=92ve had more and more clients mention finding ticks on their pets. My very first test this year for Lyme was positive." That was a 10- to 11-year-old dog, Goodall says, which he diagnosed with a positive blood test on April 25. Until then, however, it was tough to tell whether it was because the dog had been bitten by an infected tick or because of its age. "The problem with Lyme disease in dogs, unlike people, is that the majority of dogs don=92t show anything," he says. "And the dog that we=92re talking about from my clinic specifically, . . . th= e owner was reporting that she was slowing down. And all the symptoms that sh= e was reporting in hindsight were all consistent with Lyme disease but were also consistent with aging." Things like fever, swollen joints and lethargy could all be signs of other things and it=92s difficult for vets to isolate the cause because there is no tell-tale "bull=92s-eye rash" as there is on humans. "The thing with ticks is it=92s a real quagmire," says Rick Swinemar, a vet a= t Petworks in Dartmouth. "The diseases that they transmit look like every disease under the sun that we see =96 fever, malaise, heart disease, joint disease, kidney disease, live= r disease. It really becomes a difficult thing to tease out what the diagnosi= s is. Luckily we have some really good tests for Lyme disease now." There are also some pretty good treatment options, the vets say. A topical solution for your dog=92s skin is about 99 per cent effective at stopping a tick bite or at least nullifying its effects. One of the only drawbacks, however, is that it can be toxic to your cats, i= f you have them.=20 Goodall says antibiotics and vaccination usually do the trick, although som= e pets can relapse and never be cured. He suggests that once a dog is diagnosed and treated that they get tested every year. And obviously, prevention is the best defence against this little pest that tends to thrive in wet, wooded areas. When you return from walks with your dog, check him over thoroughly. If you find a tick, tell your vet immediately.=20 As for the older dog that he diagnosed, Goodall says that after the appropriate treatment, she=92s "like a puppy again." "I would argue that don=92t be scared, just be aware and check your animal every day."=20 ( petpourri@herald.ca) Rick Conrad is the editor of thechronicleherald.ca and a freelance writer i= n Halifax.=20 --Boundary_(ID_PT3d0oQeu1wUTtug/RLf3w) Content-type: text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-transfer-encoding: quoted-printable <HTML> <HEAD> <TITLE>Take time to check for ticks -- Lyme disease in dogs difficult to ca= tch -- Herald, May 22/07</TITLE> </HEAD> <BODY> I apologize for sending this twice, but the first time I forgot to remove t= he zillions of attachments that come from the Herald website. Jim<BR> <BR> <B>Subject: </B>Take time to check for ticks -- Lyme disease in dogs diffic= ult to catch -- Herald, May 22/07<BR> <BR> <FONT SIZE=3D"2"><FONT FACE=3D"Arial">Chronicle Herald, Tues., May 22, 2007<BR> </FONT></FONT> <BR> [box of information on ticks with the article]<BR> <BR> <B>PREVENTION:</B> <BR> <BR> =95Check your dog over thoroughly after going for walks through tall grasses = or in wet wooded areas. <BR> <BR> =95If you=92re really freaked out, just avoid those areas where Lyme-y ticks te= nd to congregate. <BR> <BR> =95Ask your vet about preventative medicines like Advantix or Preventix; bewa= re, however, that these can be toxic to other pets in your house.<BR> <BR> <B>IF YOU FIND A TICK:</B> <BR> <BR> =95Put on disposable gloves to avoid any possible contact with the Lyme bacte= ria. <BR> <BR> =95Use tweezers to get hold of the tick as close to the skin as possible. <BR= > <BR> =95Pull the tick in an upward motion, slowly and gently, away from the skin. = Don=92t jerk, twist or squeeze the tick. <BR> <BR> =95Use soap and wate