Running out of time
Tick-tock tick-tock tick!! Not so much a clock stopping as us running out of time. Despite vigilance and a regular renewal of the pesticide-embedded collar, the dog had picked up a passenger.
Forget the funny movie character. A real, live tick, engorged with precious nutrients from the host is hardly adorable. About the size of a Tic-Tac, and equipped with six legs (yes, ticks are bugs), this one had filled its belly to capacity and dropped off, only to be spotted by someone more eagle-eyed than I. A quick transfer to a Ziploc baggie, followed by a more leisurely lookup on the ‘net, and we knew what we had caught.
Turns out that the season for parasites goes on longer than I had figured (the collar from this season had been removed just last week, as I believed that winter was nigh). A couple of calls to the various drug dealers (pharmacies, OK?) and the general store and we were able to get a brand new one around the dog’s neck without a sprint to the city. In fact, we bought two, because the tick-tock on the new model is about four months, putting us into the mid of winter. I’m going to leave the dog with a prevention until next spring. One infected, twice shy.
The dog seems indifferent. We’ll watch for fever or other manifestations of infestations, and the vet will be queried on our next visit. I used to be convinced that only others could be ticked… now I know. Perhaps country living has different hazards.
