Tick's Tick's Tick's!!!!

LOOK VERY CLOSELY! THOSE LITTLE SPOTS AROUND THE RABBIT ARE HUNDREDS OF TICKS. THE SIZE OF THE TIP OF A SHARP PENCIL.

Routines are always normally uneventful. Taking the trash out, doing the dishes, feeding the dog, watering the garden area, or letting the dog go outside are all things we do without thinking and topically they are done without interruption. One will do it without thinking and move on to the next thing. Sometimes, just sometimes the routine changes and a normal everyday act becomes much more then just a simple quick routine.

This morning a routine turned into just that. Layla (my dog) whimpered at the back door to be let out. She only does this when she see's something in the yard and would like to get at it. These things can be rabbits (we have a tune of them), squirrels and sometimes birds that annoy her. She never catches them. It's always surprised me because she is a very fast herding dog who can get up to 35 mph. I know this because I clocked her at it when I was racing her on a small tractor out in Ohio. I don't even know if she tops at that speed because we ran out of dirt road but still... I think that's rather fast for a dog. So, for the last 6 years Layla has been obsessing about small animals (big ones too when on the trail running) her whole life never to actually "get" one.

We all know what this is leading up to. I'm in the kitchen with my baby and I hear my guy yelling at Layla to "leave it." The second time I hear him say it I know it's something different the normal. Knowing she only responds to me I rush outside to reconfirm the command only to see her all the way across the yard (we have a large yard!) shaking something in her mouth. I know instantly without really seeing that she has finally caught the young daring rabbit that has been hopping around the yard the past couple weeks. Thankfully Layla hears my voice and lets the rabbit go as I hand baby off to dad and rush over to see what damage she's done. Normally once a dog get's the taste of blood they change and become ever harder to control but she's heard my command voice and thankfully her training has paid off.

The young rabbit is not dead... poor thing. Despite the mass amount that I see I can't help but feel bad and I take my socks off and scoop it up. It had one puncture wound near it's belly so I rush inside to get a cardboard box for it. Sadly we watch it die shortly after getting it inside the box.

Now you ask yourself... what does this have to do with Lyme? It's a sad story and yes we've heard it hundreds of times. Dog's do these things and one day they are liable to catch something. You see the problem is that a little over a month ago I was bitten by a tick. Having a new baby I hadn't really been in the great outdoors and knew the only place that I picked that tick up was our own back yard. As you recall I freaked out and treated our yard for the pest and had a very hard time stepping foot into our grass after.

I placed the rabbit on the ground in the box to do a little training with my dog. I just didn't want her picking up germs but I still wanted her scarring the rabbits away. Before I got started I noticed things crawling in the box. I looked closer because they were so small and I thought they might be flees which are such a pain to get rid of! Sadly I was mistaken. The rabbits fur was coming alive as at least a hundred tinny nymph ticks were dropping off. It was like the rabbit dieing was their bus stop and they were all hopping off at the stop. When I say a hundred I am not exaggerating. They were very small little specks that moved. Some larger some smaller.

Freak out number two for me this summer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I had a feeling that these small seemingly harmless creatures were bringing ticks into our yard. Now I know. I am haunted by what I saw. The ticks are so small how would you know you had one in you? They are like a speck of dirt that you would brush off your arm or so small you wouldn't even think to brush off. There was SO many on just one little animal and suddenly I look at my dog and am discussed with all the fur she has. How many could she have on her? The drops you treat them will only kill the tick if they bite and often they are only on for the ride. Is she a bus for them too? How in God's name am I supposed to protect my yard from these invisible creatures when they hitch rides on animals I can't control? Will my little girl ever get to roll around in the grass? Will we ever have picnics on a blanket? How many of these are on me now? The questions flood my mind.