The Tick!

I wish I could say I was writing about Patrick Warburton as the Tick which was a series that only lasted one season.

Alas I am not, I am talking about this horror......

No, this is not on my hand, or that of anyone else I know, I got this above image and the one that shows sizes from the Internet - gross or what!

It is however identical to what we this afternoon removed from Carly, it was attached to her nipple the one that was situated near her lady garden!

It was and is so gross. Of course it had to be removed so we got a tick remover tool from the pet shop and once detached put it into this specimen jar (which I got from the chemist next door before we did the "surgery") in case we need to get it checked for lime disease. The lid is now tightly closed on it, but I did take a photo of it for posterity!

This is the horror below that attached itself to our beautiful little Carly!

We just have to keep an eye on Carly to make sure she doesn't get sick - poor soul bad enough having just gone through her first season. What surprised me was that I give both Marvin & Carly regular treatments for fleas, ticks and worms, yet despite this, one still managed to get a hold of her (granted, they were due another dose), but still, just goes to show, do these regularly for your dogs.

The tick is alive in the specimen jar and I was amazed to see that it can actually climb up the side of it despite having such a bloated back end (like very a small pebble). They apparently start off looking like spiders, as shown, and grow as they become bloated!

As soon as it was removed (by Anders) as I made sure Carly stayed still, I cleaned her where it had been attached with some antiseptic on a piece of cotton so as to ensure it wasn't infected (as best we could). As though this was not horrible enough, I was told by the lady in the pet shop when I went into buy the implement that she had had a couple come in with their son for one because their son had managed to get one lodged in his belly button - eww!!

Again, the horror below that attached itself to our beautiful little Carly!

We don't know when it attached itself to her, but I noticed it today as it looked as though she had a brown/grey nipple which I thought was odd. Given she has been in heat, I am assuming the tick took a shine to her scent, another unwanted admirer!

I am just glad she and Marvin both have short coats so it is easy to spot if there is something there that isn't right. They and (Dexter the cat) have now all had further treatments applied, so hopefully we will see no more of this grossness again. Until now I have never had a pet come home with an unwanted friend. The very reason you make sure you have your pets treated - goodness knows what my two would have been like if I hadn't!