THIS IS A HAPPY STORY!
There are so many times when I have to report on deaths or other scary topics, but this one is a happy dance story. Check it out below.
The owners of sweet Ollie, a 10 year old Sheltie noticed he was lethargic after a trip to Eastern Oregon. The owners knew something was up, even though he still had a little sparkle in his eyes, so they took him to the vet.
After a battery of tests, vets couldn’t figure out what the problem was. And sadly, after about a week, poor Ollie was almost completely paralyzed and unable to eat or go to the bathroom.
The veterinarians told the Meteneys, Ollie’s people, that there was no sign of recovery and they decided to put Ollie down.
Before he was put down, ex-tern Neena Golden, took a moment to comfort the Sheltie and it was at that point that she felt a strange lump behind his ear that turned out to be a tick. Even though the pup had worn a tick collar during his trip to Eastern Oregon, the bug had managed to lodge itself in Ollie’s fur and stick around for days. In fact, the tick had been there for awhile because it was very bloated and there was a lot of fecal material in his fur as well.
The vet, Dr. Stone, realized that Ollie’s sickness was a very rare condition (one he’d never seen out in the real world) — tick paralysis; saliva secreted by the tick got into Ollie’s system over a prolonged period of time, affecting his neurological system and causing paralysis. And the good news is that it’s completely curable.
Hospital staff at the clinic removed the tick, and shaved most of Ollie’s fur to make sure no other ticks were hiding in his fur. The Meteneys took him home and about 10 hours later they heard Ollie roaming around the house, ready to be let outside for a bathroom break.
Everyone was astounded, yet overjoyed, at how quickly he recovered.
See? Happy story. Told you so!
XO- Erin
Source: DoveLewis
