And ticks are on the lookout

The very warm weather has woken ticks from their winter slumbers and the little insects are already hunting out food. For animals such as dogs they can be fatal and for humans can cause the very debilitating Lyme's disease.
Many pet owners, Taglines included, will have already found ticks on their dogs or cats. There are various remedies or preventions; for walkers the simplest is to tuck your trousers into your socks. Children, who are nearer the ground, should also wear a hat when walking through tall grass or bushes. Anti-mosquito sprays may be effective and for animals tick collars can work. Regular examination of your pets and use of a simple fork to remove ticks without damage is recommended.
Our old Golden Retriever, Bonny, was a tick magnet and we have already found one on Chanel, so be vigilant.

Yet another case of piro plasmosis reported

Talking to our neighbour over the road we mentioned about Bonny being covered in ticks. They told us that only a few weeks ago Kenza their living outside dog also suffered with the tick malady.
What a year for ticks!
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Plagued by ticks

Beautiful sunny weather continues... as does the breeding life of the tick. We never remember finding ticks on the pets in November before but last night I unhooked 8 off Bonny and this morning found another three I had missed. Max the cat who does play in the fields and long grass also had one on his neck last night.
Keep up those tick checks on your pets. Products and collars do not seem to stop the ticks latching on but should protect  although Bonny and friends dog Monty getting piro plasmosis proves they are not 100 %
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Another tick warning.

Bonny is a golden retriever, dog of our hearts. She came to us bred by a vet at Albi, just 8 weeks old and adorable from the first minute.

Malc bought her for me as 60th birthday present; he did not really want a dog or pets at that time but he now is enslaved by Bonny's charms.

The day we were in Toulouse Bonny did not eat her breakfast; a golden not eating is a worry. When we returned our biggest concern was that Bonny would jump up at my hand.

She did not even come to meet us when we got back and the French neighbour who looked after the pets that day told us she had not wanted a walk or eat her tea.

Thursday we squeezed a vet's visit in as well as a doctor's visit. The news at the drs was good.

The news from the vet was catastrophic.

After taking blood samples, which he could analyse at the surgery, he confirmed that Bonny has piroplasmosis, a tick borne disease.

My heart sank knowing friends' dogs whose lives were shortened by this disease.

The good news is that Charles the new vet who now has our total confidence, discovered it quickly and injections have started already.

This morning bonny ate her breakfast, went on the walk and even did a bit of normal rabbit chasing.

It is a disease that cannot be eradicated but can be controlled. It is not harmful to other pets or people.

I hate bloody ticks.

Here is picture of Bonny in the spring in happier times
what do you tick ( ugh) on this one? "sympathize" for poor Bonny or "enjoyed" seeing that happy picture of those three.
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Bonny looking regal in her bridal ensemble, with Milly and Annie as bridesmaids

Tick time, take care

Having just watched BBC news about ticks becoming more common in England, thought it was worth a reminder to take care here.
Spring is the worst time for finding a tick latched on to you, which you may have picked up on a walk. Long grass seems to be the stomping ground of these horrid little spider like insects. Our dogs and cats have all suffered with ticks and the handy tick fork is often in use. We run our hands over the pets on a regular basis to check them over.
 Looking for ticks is not being alarmist, it does not often happen that you get one but in 12 years Malc and I have both  have had one. The thing to do is get them off including their mouth parts as quickly as possible. Certainly in the first 24  to 48 hours.
Ticks can give " Lyme's Disease" a particularly nasty disease which thank heavens is becoming more recognised, has no cure but can be treated by antibiotics. We have a good friend who has had it for more than 12 years and has really suffered with it.
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Fabulous weather but starting the day with ticks, just not good.

Woken with a cat being sick on a rug, why always on a rug when we have huge expanses of uncarpeted floor?
Another cat wanting a cuddle, with a clutch of ticks discovered on his neck.
So I then checked the dogs and found Bonny had a clutch under her neck as well. I have never seen them in clutches before.
I wonder if we are in for a bad tick year having had such a mild winter? This is a suggestion to check your pets and watch yourself if you walk in lush long grass in the countryside.
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First tick of the year

It  must be the mild weather as we have just spotted and relieved Max our cat / wild thing, of a tick near his eye.  An early start in the year for these horrid blood sucking creatures. We use a tick fork bought from the vets, it means you do not have to touch the little blighters and once in the forks prongs, a sharp anti clockwise movement releases the tick including its mouth parts.  I then drown them in a container of soapy water. If you are not careful  they hang on in there and can cause abscesses on your pet or YOU if you are the host. I better mention Lyme's disease as well, otherwise a reader will write to correct my omission.
I feel like a tick expert of SW France with all the animals we have and being constantly on my guard  against them.
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