Cliff Buchan
News EditorDog owners take note. Anyone living in the St. Croix Valley area or the non-suburban areas of Forest Lake is in an area that provides a perfect environment for ticks. And the ticks may well be passing Lyme disease to dogs, says Dr. Dave Enright of South Shore Veterinary Hospital here.
And as a study by the IDEXX Company has concluded so far, the Forest Lake area is a hotbed for deer ticks that carry Lyme disease, Enright says.
In a study from 2003, just between 1800 to 2000 dogs were tested for Lyme disease through the Forest Lake clinic. Nearly 250 tested positive for the disease.
Of that total, 66 of the dogs came from the Forest Lake area while 39 were from Wyoming and 30 from Stacy.
ìSouth Shore Veterinary Hospital had the dubious honor of having the most Lyme positive dogs in the seven-state Upper Midwest region of the United States,î Enright wrote in a letter to pet owners last October.
A secondary follow-up study is now taking place to determine the level of infection of the dogs testing positive last fall. So far, Enright says, 150 dog owners are taking part.
The study will provide insight on how the disease runs its course over time, the doctor said.
ìThatís what they are really interested in ó why?î Enright said of the IDEXX study. ìIt will be fascinating to see the results.î
Good advice
With the tick season in full swing, Enright says the drug company survey is a good signal to dog owners to take stock of their environment and seriously consider an immunization program for their dog.
The study in 2003 also looked at heartworm disease and a second tick-borne disease, ehrlichiosis.
But with the deer tick season reaching its zenith in May (it runs from September to May), Enright is encouraging dog owners to take stock of their pets.
Enright is not surprised by the relatively high number of dogs testing positive last fall. ìItís always been here,î he said of the disease.
Dogs infected by a deer tick bite will come down with a fever, become quiet and lethargic and show signs of lameness. ìTheyíll come up lame,î Enright said.
The first sign of symptoms will last only three to four days, he says. In two to six months the animal can experience a second round of symptoms where the dogís joints are attacked to a stronger degree.
That it occurs in the St. Croix Valley area should be no surprise, Enright says. While the metro area is far more suburbanized with less natural habitat for deer ticks, that is not the case in the far north suburbs where sprawling areas like the Carlos Avery Wildlife Management area are dominant.
While many dog owners in the area have long taken the time to annually vaccinate their animals for Lyme disease, those who have not may want to consider the step, he says.
ìWeíve seen it work well for us,î he says of the two versions of Lyme disease vaccine that he has at his disposal.
At the same time, Enright says, pet owners should not discount steps to protect dogs against heartworm disease, a mosquito borne disease. His Forest Lake clinic routinely sees about a dozen cases a year in dogs.
Medicines are available in pill form and dogs can receive a liquid treatment to their coat that will ward off mosquitoes, ticks and fleas, he says.
Pet owners who have dogs that frequently swim should plan to reapply any coat treatments on a regular basis, he says, because the treatment will likely wash off despite claims that it will not.
Dogs inflicted with heart worm will develop a cough as the heart worm takes residence in the heart. The wormís presence can eventually lead to congestive heart failure.
Animals that are treated for heartworm by June 1 actually receive back protection to about April 20. This spring has not been unusually warm and consequently the mosquito larvae has not had the warm days required to mature.
Enright has this added advice for any dog owner.
Weigh your risks, he says. If you live near areas where deer ticks may thrive, by all means seek out the annual Lyme disease vaccine. The same applies for heartworm protection, he says.
ìIf you find ticks it should be part of your regular health maintenance,î Enright says. Many of risk factors for dogs can also apply to people, he adds. ìThat goes for people, too,î he says.
Check your dog for ticks just as you would check yourself or your child, he says. ìIf you find them on your dog, they are there for people.î
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