I saw Buddy in June for a swelling in his earflap.
It was huge and irritating to him.  It turns out that Buddy had an ear infection which had caused him to shake his head so hard that he had bled between the tissues of the earflap and a hematoma (like a “blood blister”) was created.  This can be a very painful situation.  If you’ve ever had a blood blister you know what I mean.  Even when it’s small, the pressure that builds up is substantial, and this involved Buddy’s entire earflap from the base to the tip.  It was really swollen.
            It seems that it should be easy to relieve pressure just by draining the bloody fluid from the earflap, but this, like many things, isn’t as easy as it seems.  Remove the fluid and it fills right back up.  A tube must be sutured to the earflap to continue drainage until all the bleeding totally stops.  This is usually a 2 week period.  To place the tube and properly treat and clean the earflap and ear, Buddy needed anesthesia and surgery.  And, because Buddy is a middle-aged guy, it is safest to check his blood work before giving anesthesia.
            Buddy’s conscientious owners allowed us to run the tests and I am glad we did.  It’s amazing how many times blood work reveals the unexpected, and it’s amazing how valuable this information is to the life of your pet.
            The results of Buddy’s blood work showed signs suspicious for a tick-carried parasite.  Sure enough we found ticks attached to Buddy as well.  However, even if Buddy had been bitten by 1 tick that had already fallen off it was possible that he could have become infected with a tick-carried parasite.  It only takes the bite of one tick to cause the disease. 
            There are 3 commonly found tick-carried parasites in Mid-Missouri; Ehrlichia canis, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Lyme’s Disease.  Just as it sounds, tick-carried parasites are carried by an infected tick, and the longer this tick attaches to your dog, or, yes, even to you, the more chance that the parasite can be transferred into the host’s bloodstream.  Tick-carried parasites can cause many serious symptoms.  An infected dog could be lethargic, feel poorly, stop eating, experience joint pain, arthritis-like symptoms, become paralyzed, develop bleeding disorders and organ damage.  Treatment is available, but the sooner the parasite is diagnosed, the better the treatment works.
            A special test was checked on Buddy’s blood, and sure enough, it was discovered that he had a serious case of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.  This would explain why his earflap was so badly swollen, and had continued to grow gradually bigger over the previous 2 weeks.  He wasn’t clotting his blood well.
            Knowing about Buddy’s problem allowed me to start the appropriate antibiotic immediately.
            Buddy’s ear is now doing great.  He is in no pain.  He is leaving his drainage tube alone to do its job.  He is taking his antibiotics and his owners are keeping his ear very clean.  Buddy’s only problem now is that he has to stay indoors until healing is complete and can’t go for his daily swims.
            So if your dog is acting “a little strange”, stiff, or tired this summer, and you know that there have been some ticks attached, please call us.  We can help and take a test.
            Tick preventatives are really important.  Call or email if you have any questions about what to use and how to apply it.  Some preventatives are better than others.  Be careful to wear gloves or use a tweezers when you pull a tick off your pet.  The blood of an infected tick is a danger to you, too.
            And pay attention to the symptoms if your pet is rubbing its ears, shaking its head or whining.  An ear infection hurts and early treatment could prevent a hematoma from developing.

*Special Alert*:
            As you’ve just read, if you have an outside dog, you really need to use tick preventative, however, these products must be handled with care for the safety of your pet.  Always read the label!!  A recent case at the clinic demonstrated this fact all too clearly.
            One of our most conscientious and caring clients accidentally applied their dog’s Advantix to their 9 ½ pound cat.  Advantix is a dog-only product.  It works great to kill ticks and fleas, but it is a poison in cats.  It took several hours for the owner to realize the error, and by then, the liquid had absorbed through the cats skin and the kitty was showing the effects of the poison.  We saw her on an emergency basis, bathed her to remove as much poison as possible, and treated her symptoms.  There is no antidote made for this type of poisoning, and worse still, the effects of the poisoning could occur even 3-7 days after exposure.  Unfortunately, this is what happened here.  The kitty improved.  She even started eating and 2 days later she suddenly became very ill again and passed away leaving her owners grief-stricken.
            Her owners are devastated, but they were kind enough to want me to share their story with you in the hopes that no one else’s cat will suffer.  Accidents like this happen, but I think if pet owners understand the importance of reading labels when using these products even more care will be taken.

*Additional Alert:
            One more safety concern exists in using flea and tick preventatives: these products are especially poisonous if ingested.  If you have more than 1 pet, you can’t allow one pet to lick the skin and hair of a recently treated pet.  Again, always read your labels.