Undesirable bugs causes public health concern among pets

Alpena, Mich. — Summer is here. That means some undesirable  bugs are back and doctors are calling them a public health concern. After seeing a handful of new cases Switzer Veterinary Clinic is helping us keep those annoying ticks out of our pets’ hair.

Our dogs love to run and jump through the open fields. They’re so close to the ground, they’re just a magnet for ticks.

“If you talk to people who’ve lived here a long time,” said veterinarian Daniele Knight, “we’ve never seen ticks until five years ago.”

The tiny bugs are good at playing hide–and–seek. “There is a higher risk in a wooded area but we also find them in town as well.”

Dr. Knight says Alpena County saw more tick sightings than ever before,”so that’s raised a lot of concern for ourselves as well as the dog.”

One out 60 dogs test positive. Knight said, “that’s a lot.”

Ticks lead to diseases we don’t want our pets to have so the best way to remove them is to use a tick removing device.

“If you remove a tick from yourself or your dog, you do not want to crush it with your fingers, because you can actually get the bacteria on yourself and get infected,” said the doctor.

Search behind the ears, neck and legs. Doctors at Switzer use blood from heart warming tests to check for three different tick diseases.

“You want to be on a good quality, veterinary recommended flee and tick preventive every single month,” said Dr. Knight.

We don’t want our furry pals running back to us with any parasitic friends.