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PAGE 6A PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS THURSDAY. JUNE 16. 2022
Local vet offers advice to pet owners
By Dr. Lyn Lewis, Wayside Animal Hospital
Jasper woman killed in
Highway 53 West crash
Ticks and the
diseases they
carry
Already in the office,
many dogs are coming in
with ticks, usually the owner
didn’t even notice. For the
most part, ticks just suck
blood and when they are
done they fall off and spawn
more ticks.
But, about one out of
every 100 can carry some
pretty serious diseases for
both humans and our pets.
On the average when we do
see ticks on a pet we see
about 10. That means that po
tentially 1 out of 10 pets with
ticks has a tick borne disease.
That's a very scary thought.
Now, we have to contend
with a new species, the Asian
Longhorn Tick. There is not
a lot of data about this new
invasive species and the dis
eases that they carry. I am
sure it will take a few years
to get good data on that.
There are four stages in a
tick’s life cycle: egg, larva,
nymph, and adult. Ticks in
three of the four life stages
are capable of sucking blood
from a host. When they are
done they fall off and molt
into the next stage unless
they are an adult, then they
fall off and lay eggs. What is
amazing is that the life cycle
can be completed in less than
two months. Ticks use heat
sensors to know when a meal
is close by.
They tend to stay on the
tip of the bottom of leaves,
usually about knee high or
below. When we or our pets
walk through the woods and
brush past the low leaves, the
ticks sense us and just hop
right on. Ticks have pincers
on each side of the mandible
that they bury under the skin
to hold on then begin sucking
blood from the host.
There are seven main dis
eases that we see with ticks.
I will try to cover the four
that we see most often. Num
ber one on our list we see a
disease called Ehrlichiosis
which only affects dogs. This
disease causes lethargy, de
pression, on and off again
fever, small bruises all over
the skin, swollen glands, and
possibly spontaneous bleed
ing. A bacteria is the
causative agent with Ehrli
chiosis which causes a drop
in platelets. This leads to the
bleeding and bruising poten
tially leading to death of the
host.
The next disease we see is
Lyme’s Disease, named for a
small town in which it was
found Lyme, Connecticut.
Lyme’s Disease affects quite
a few species including hu
mans and dogs. The most
common symptom is lame
ness with swollen joints that
are warm to the touch.
The dogs can have a fever
and have lethargy because of
the joint pain. Sometimes the
bacteria that causes this dis
ease can also affect the heart,
nervous system and kidneys.
This disease is the most seri
ous threat we face, and it is
on the rise in the state of
Georgia with an increasing
number of cases every year.
This disease does have a
vaccine we can protect them
with. Strangely, many of our
patients can have the disease
and not show any symptoms.
Whereas the top two diseases
are found frequently in the
eastern U.S. the third disease
is not as common. Rocky
Mountain Spotted Fever is
much like Ehrlichiosis in that
it can also cause bleeding
with the small areas of bruis
ing but this infection is much
faster. Unlike Ehrlichiosis
though, humans can also get
this bacteria through tick
bites. The fevers that go with
this disease can be quite high,
over 104. Even though this is
generally rare around here I
had three cases total last year.
The final disease we will
cover, which is very rare, is
Babesiosis. It is a parasite
that once bitten lives in the
red blood cells of dogs. It
causes the cells to rupture
and eventually leads to se
vere anemia.
If untreated the dog could
die from internal damage to
the red blood cells. Most peo
ple notice lethargy and a gen
eral yellow appearance to the
skin, eyes, and mouth of the
dogs. This yellowing is actu
ally a by-product of ruptured
red blood cells called hemo
globin.
Overall, all four diseases
are very treatable if caught
early. Usually blood tests
have to be done to determine
what the causative agent is
before treatment can start.
There is also an interesting
phenomenon which is still
poorly understood with ticks.
Tick Paralysis can affect both
humans and our pets. It is
caused by the saliva of the
tick disrupting the electric
signals of our nerves.
The saliva leads to an as
cending paralysis starting in
the rear end. In cases that I
have seen, the owner de
scribes that the pet is acting
drunk and swaying and even
tually becomes paralyzed in
the rear end. Removal of the
tick is all that is needed to
stop the paralysis but it may
take a few days for full func
tion to return. This is an as
cending disease with
problems starting in the tail
and back legs, slowly ascend
ing up the body. Death can
occur when the paralysis
reaches the lungs.
Talking about all these
diseases is important so that
you understand how poten
tially serious tick bites are
but far more important is tick
prevention. Just like with Ra
bies, pets can serve as the
middle men in diseases com
ing from the wild and into
our homes.
Please consult your vet
about different medications
that can be used to prevent
tick bites. There are many
good products both veteri
nary sold and over the
counter that can properly pro
tect our pets. Never use dog
tick products on cats because
severe toxicity and death can
likely occur. If you notice a
tick on your pet use a pair of
tweezers and grasp the tick
by the head and pull it off the
skin. If you have any addi
tional questions consult your
local veterinarian.
Fantastic Farmers Market
even includes pizza
Paws Pizza offered frozen pizzas ready for the oven at
last Saturday’s Jasper Farmers Market.
By Heather Giambra
Saturday saw a market
full of happy vendors and
customers filling their hands
and arms with veggies, dec
orations, plants, and pizzas.
Yes, there was a pizza
vendor selling frozen pizzas
ready for the oven.
Yellow squash and green
cucumbers greeted many
customers, along with onions
and garlic. If you're looking
to fill up your raised beds
with veggies, such as toma
toes, eggplant, peppers, or
herbs, look no further than
the Jasper Farmers Market.
Several vendors offered
healthy plants for a healthy
garden.
Flowers like nasturtiums
and marigolds were avail
able. They are great for invit
ing pollinators or deterring
bad bugs. Even if you only
have room for one container,
you can have something
homegrown to eat.
Fragrant soaps, sewn with
love items, special message
t-shirts, cutting boards, and
artwork from paintings to
painted saws are available for
your home or for gifting.
Baked goods like loaves of
bread, fried pies, and deli
cious jellies are waiting for
you at the market. With all
the creative folk at the Jasper
Farmers Market you will find
something to love.
The market is sponsored
by the Pickens County Mas
ter Gardeners, who by the
way had their monthly plant
tent up.
The market is each Sat
urday through September.
The market is located at the
Park N Ride parking lot
across from the Veterans
Memorial. The Wednesday
market starts on June 22
from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m.
HI VI y
Pickens County
Water & Sewer Authority
Annual Water Quality Report
j 2021 pws - GA2270002
Philip Deai
Director *f l tatm
Pbo»r: t*-2S«~lS
Fax:
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A copy of the 2021 Pickens County Water
Quality Report is now available online at
www.pickenscountyga.gov or you may call the
office706-253-871 8. We are located at 1266
East Church Street, Suite 11 7, Jasper, Ga
30143.
Like us on Facebook: Pickens County Water &
Sewer Authority.
Sign up for Code Red Alerts: pickenscountyga.gov
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff Writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
A Jasper woman was
killed in a single-vehicle
crash on Highway 53 West
the morning of June 6 near
the Old Johnson Road inter
section. The incident oc
curred at approximately
10:45 a.m.
According to Georgia
State Patrol Post #28 Com
mander Kevin Evans, Brandy
M. Price, 41, was traveling in
the westbound lane when her
vehicle left the roadway. Her
Toyota Highlander ran off the
right shoulder and overturned
several times before coming
to rest on the driver’s side.
Price was pronounced de
ceased on the scene. There
were no passengers in the ve
hicle.
Photo/Angela Reinhardt
A cross has been placed at the fatal crash site offHigh
way 53.
Flag Day proclaimed in Jasper
The Daughters of the American Revolu
tion in keeping with their purposes of “pro
moting patriotism and preserving American
history” asked the Jasper mayor to proclaim
June 14th as Flag Day in the city of Jasper.
Attending the signing were: Echo Hopkins
and Kathy Ciomek, co-chairs Flag of the
United States; Mayor Steve Lawrence, and
Mary Turner, Regent of the local Sequoyah
DAR Chapter.
In part the proclamation states, “we call
on all citizens to display the flag of the
United States of America and call on every
one to observe the day with proper pride and
ceremony.”
OUR OFFICES WILL
BE CLOSED MONDAY,
JUNE 20,2022 IN
OBSERVANCE OF
THEJUNETEENTH.
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24 hours a day with our online
banking and mobile app.
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