My first experience with a tick took place seven or so years ago, here on the ranch. Brushing my horse, Joey, while talking with my father-in-law, George, I came up on what looked like a skin tag on Joey's neck. I asked George if he knew what it might be.
"Looks like a tick"
What!!?
"Pull it out" he says to me.
Um....NO! How do you do it?!
He showed this wanna be country girl daughter in law of his just how it was done......grab as close to the buried head as possible and pull straight out. GROSS!
I have since that time become very proficient in tick detection and removal, thankfully, because last week alone, I pulled FOUR....three from the Advantage Tick protected Chloe dog and one from five year old Paige.
If you follow me on Facebook, you then know that my dog, Chloe, took off and went missing for 4 1/2 hours a few days ago....VERY unlike her to be gone for so long. Awful thoughts of someone picking her up near the road and keeping her for themselves, along with her, very possibly, becoming a coyote snack were weighing heavy on my mind.
After calling the Marin County Humane Society to find out if she had been found and turned in and.... she hadn't, I hopped on the 4-wheeler and searched the ranch in areas I thought she might have wandered.
No luck. How was I gonna break this to the kids?!
Feeling really down, I wandered back outside to take my mind off it and low and behold here comes the Little Stinker trotting up the hill, tongue hanging out, panting like crazy, completely matted with foxtails and looking like she had been on quite an adventure.
If only dogs could speak.
An hour later, I had pulled at least 200 foxtails from her fur and the three digusting ticks you see in the photo above.
Not sure how or why my Advantage Tick protected Chloe ended up with three ticks on her, two of them engorged with her blood, but she did and I had the chore of pulling them.
If you've never encountered a tick, the photo above is a good visual. The smallest tick had not yet buried its head in Chloe yet, the center tick had been in her for a bit and the third, largest tick, had been in there 'feasting' for what looks like quite a while. They all start out looking like the little guy and as they draw blood from you, they grow bigger and bigger.
After her MIA morning, Chloe had a nice looong nap that afternoon.
Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to leave a comment. I love to hear from you! Have a fantastic day!
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3 comments:
im so glad she returned!
ticks make me want to take a shower and scrub my skin. they are so gross. have a great week!
I am so glad she is home safe and sound.
I grew up in Tick country.
It was constant, check your own head and combing through the dogs.
Disgusting things!
Glad Chloe's home! She doesn't look like a typical farm dog, but she clearly knows how to hold her own and have an adventure! I absolutely hate ticks. Blech! I'll call you for assistance if our Advantage Tick-protected dog gets one.
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