Halloween Horrors

Gus

As autumn winds howled, the Applegate pets braced for another season of the terrible torture of Halloween hats. 

This was the first year for Jeb, the bloodhound, and Earl, the goat, to endure the horrible harassment of the annual photo shoot.  

A very active Jeb was hard to pin down. The costumes' Velcro was indeed a sticking factor.

I was able to affix a spider costume to the agitated bloodhound. He was then distracted by trying to tear the legs off his annoying ensemble. Treats were dispensed and the humiliation forgotten. 
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Meanwhile, Earl, was highly offended by the addition of a hat to his head. I think this was the first time I had heard a goat try to growl. After a few photos, it was very challenging to attempt to try to remove the hat. An irritated Earl had lost all trust in me. Eventually, the hat was removed. Treats were dispensed. Earl was compensated. ​

Tick under magnification

Meanwhile, the Applegate pets faced a real threat in their yard and woodlands. These blood-sucking parasites seemed relentless this fall. Ticks were the real Halloween horror story this year. 
In an article by DeAnna Poole posted on msn.com, Heather Nies, the Kennels Manager at Erie Humane Society, was quoted as saying, “Ticks this year are really, really bad…”.

Nies urged preventative measures against the blood sucking parasites.

Nies went on to say that dogs and cats “can still have ticks crawling on them, they’ll bite them, and then they’ll instantly die from the preventative that they will be on.”

Meanwhile another article by Tina Deines posted on msn.com talked about a Pennsylvania scientist who specializes in tick-borne research.

Tick under magnification

Nicole Chinnici, the laboratory director at the Tick Research Lab of Pennsylvania, was reported as saying there was an increase in ticks sent in for testing this season.

Chinnici told the Associated Press that this year has been "tickier" than usual, with more of these bloodsuckers being tested, according to the post. 

In the article Chinnici said that the most common species is the blacklegged (deer) tick, which is associated with the majority of tick-borne illnesses, such as Lyme disease … She added that there has been an increase in American dog ticks as well as Asian longhorned and lone star ticks. 
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In the post claimed that the increase that Chinnici and her team are seeing at their lab is not an anomaly. “Warmer weather is helping ticks and other disease-spreading vectors to survive for longer periods through the year, giving them more time to breed. Higher temperatures are also helping ticks spread north and west to new parts of the U.S. and Canada,” the article stated. 

Day in and day out, the Applegate fur kids faced the creepy crawlies. Vaccinations helped but weren't always the cure all. Clem had some phantom hip pains, and it turned out he had Lymes disease even though he was vaccinated against it. Recently, a blood test revealed that Gus had Lymes disease despite having the vaccination. The moral of this story was that a blood panel may be the answer to mysterious ailments. The test cost under $90 at a local veterinarian clinic. 
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Pet owners can try everything, but there still may be dangers hiding in small packages. That's just the nature of things 'round here.