A dog walker
in the park says she recently found a tick on her dog, which she had a vet remove.
It turns out that the tick was not only a species that could carry Lyme disease
but, in fact, has now been tested and is positive for Lyme disease. The
only place she had walked her dog in the previous weeks was in Sam Smith
Park. She feels that she would be
remiss if this information was not shared.
She says,
“The tick looked very much like a smudge of dirt and, when I tried to remove
it, it stuck. It also had a very rubbery feel to it. Our vet noted
that it is not unheard of for tick populations to rise during bird migratory
periods and Sam Smith Park is on a direct route for many migrating birds.
Our vet was also quite adamant about getting our pet on a regimen of
antibiotics as soon as possible to minimize any effects the tick may have on
her so I didn’t want to take this lightly.”
This has been passed on to a Natural Environment Specialist with the City's Parks. We are told that there have been unconfirmed reports of these ticks on the Toronto Islands so it makes sense that they could be in other places along the waterfront.
City Parks has passed this on to Toronto Public Health. Here is their response -
This has been passed on to a Natural Environment Specialist with the City's Parks. We are told that there have been unconfirmed reports of these ticks on the Toronto Islands so it makes sense that they could be in other places along the waterfront.
City Parks has passed this on to Toronto Public Health. Here is their response -
Thanks for bringing this to our attention. It is not uncommon to find a
positive tick anywhere in Ontario however, Colonel Sam Smith park is not
recognized as a hot spot with an established blacklegged tick population. We
will note the finding and consider having the park assessed by dragging in
the area next season.
Above are some links for more information.
2 comments:
Our dog had a large tick on her head recently. The only place she runs is in Sam Smith park so she probably picked it up there. I removed it myself - with some difficulty - and a recent visit the vet shows her to be in good health. Thd vet also told me that had I left the tick alone it would have quickly fallen off. Apparently the anti-flea/tick medication she is on is designed to kill them not prevent them. Having walked our dogs there for more than a dozen years this is the first tick we have found. I hope it will be the last, but I doubt it somehow.
I haven't seen any ticks on my Newfs, Memphis or Ellie Mae to date, but they have such long thick fur that it's possible that one would go un-noticed.
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