An intern saved a dog's life in Portland, Oregon, when she noticed a tick lodged behind the animal's ear just minutes before he was to be put down amid rapidly deteriorating health.
According to the DoveLewis Emergency Animal Hospital, Al and Joelle Meteney brought their dog Ollie, a Sheltie, in for an examination because it appeared that the 10-year-old was lethargic since a trip to the Umpqua River.
Ollie's health continued to deteriorate in the passing days and he was having difficulty walking even after a full-range of tests, blood work, and x-rays came up with no possible ailments.
"At this point, the pup was almost completely paralyzed and unable to eat or go to the bathroom on his own," the DoveLewis website stated. "Since there seemed to be no treatment to fix Ollie's condition and his quality of life was rapidly deteriorating, Al and Joelle made the extremely difficult decision to put Ollie to sleep at DoveLewis."
As the dog was being prepared to be euthanized, Neena Golden discovered a bloated tick behind the thick fur on the dog's ear. Dr. Adam Stone said he came to believe the dog might have had tick paralysis.
"Tick paralysis, or tick-bite paralysis, is caused by a potent toxin that is released through the saliva of certain species of female tick and which is injected into the blood of the dog as the tick infests the skin of the dog,"
stated the website PetMD.com.
"The toxin directly affects the nervous system, leading to a group of nervous symptoms in the affected animal. The toxins released by ticks cause lower motor neuron paralysis, which is defined as a loss of voluntary movement and which is caused by a disease of the nerves that connect the spinal cord and muscles."
DoveLewis wrote that Ollie returned nearly to normal some 10 hours after the tick was removed and his hair shaved off as a safety precaution.
"We were astounded by the quick turnaround," Al Meteney told DoveLewis.
Golden said,
according to CNN, that she was happy to be able to make a difference.
"That might be the one tick paralysis case I experience in my career," Golden said. "It was exciting that we could help."
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