What is Lyme Disease in Pets?
by Dr. N.J.Hayes, DVM Lyme disease is caused by a tick borne spirochete – Borrelia burgdorferi (it has a coiled or cork-screw appearance under the microscope). The tick usually lives in the grasses and trees of fields and timbers where it is around wild mice, voles, other rodents and white-tailed deer. The tick eggs are laid in the spring, and after hatching a month later, feed on small mammals until they overwinter until the next spring. The second spring, the larvae molt and become nymphs (young ticks) that feed on pets, deer and humans. The usual feeding time is late spring, early summer and again in the fall. These nymphs are so tiny (think of a large speck of pepper) that they’re hard to see in your pet’s fur. At least 3 species of tick can carry the bacteria, but the most common is known as the deer tick. The second fall, they molt into adults and feed on larger mammals before mating, laying eggs and dying. The larger ticks are easier to find than the nymphs; but, because of thei
