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From: mlj@lanl-a.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.pets
Subject: Rocky Mountain ticks
Message-ID: <10645@lanl-a.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 18-Jul-84 18:46:41 EDT
Article-I.D.: lanl-a.10645
Posted: Wed Jul 18 18:46:41 1984
Date-Received: Fri, 20-Jul-84 07:18:54 EDT
Organization: Los Alamos National Laboratory
Lines: 29


A few days ago I discovered two ticks (the Rocky Mountain type,
I think) sucking away on my terrier--one on her throat and one
under her right front leg (in the armpit).  Apparently these
ticks are found around cattle so we figured out where she got them,
on a hiking trip to the Rio Grande (in the rocky-mountain northern
NM), about a week earlier.

The first one, about the size of an M&M, we pulled out with
forceps.  It was very swollen with blood and had excreted
blood on my dog's hair.  Luckily there weren't any eggs
anywhere.  Then I talked to someone whose dog also had had ticks.
I was told to hold a match against the tick so he would get hot and
let go and back up, but my dog has long hair and is extremely 
flammable!  My dad tried a soddering (sp?) iron, but that just proceeded
to cook it.  We finally pulled it out with forceps, along with
a hunk of skin that it was hanging onto.  Both wounds were good
sized, about 1/2" and are now scabbed over, and a bit swollen.
It looked like we didn't leave the heads of the ticks behind
when we pulled them out; otherwise she would get infected.

Do these ticks harm dogs in any way, other than sucking out
their blood and perhaps inviting infection?  Do they carry
diseases?  I'm courious. . .  this is my first experience with these nasty
creatures.  Luckily my dog was very cooperative when we "operated"
on her!

                        Marie-Louise Jalbert
                        mlj@lanl