This particular dog park is located within a county park that has camping, miles of walking trails, lakes, swimming, boating, and many other fun activities. I take the dogs there often, as they love swimming in that nasty lake.
Yes. There are alligators in the lake, but the park employees are good about removing the ones large enough to eat people, and the smaller ones generally stay away from crowds as large as the crowds that gather at the dog park. Still, I always keep an eye out for them, as I don't want to have to wrestle one for one of my dogs...and you know I would.
Yes. I was watching for gators even though it is January and usually they hibernate in winter. I was afraid one would wake up on such a warm day.
I didn't even think about watching out for ticks.
I've been taking my dogs to that dog park since August 2005, and they have never once gotten a tick there. Fleas? Yes, but they die quickly because my dogs take medicine to kill them. I've never even gotten a flea there myself, so I didn't even think I might pick up a little hitchhiker this week.
I bathed my dogs as soon as we got home that day. No signs of fleas or ticks. Just a lot of sand and dirt from playing in that nasty lake and in the dog park in general.
Yesterday, I spent the day inside cleaning out my linen closet. I have a LOT of things to do before I move in July, and I don't have much energy, so I have to do things a little at a time. This long weekend I planned to clean out my linen closet and paint my bedroom, if time and weather cooperated.
I didn't wash my hair yesterday since I washed it the day before, so last night as I was preparing to go to bed, I ran my hand through my hair, deciding whether or not to wash it before bed, and felt something on the back of my head.
At first I thought my dermatologist missed something he needed to remove. Then I thought it was maybe a scab, so I tried to scratch it off. It was too stubborn for a scab, so I thought, I should take a photo of it to see what it really was.
Yup. A deer tick.
Deer ticks are the ticks that carry Lyme Disease, which frightens me. This tick was probably on my head around 31 or 32 hours or so, which may not have been long enough for me to be infected, but just the thoughts of Lyme Disease scares me to death. It should scare you too because it oftentimes goes undiagnosed and can become chronic and make you miserable for many years of your life.
For more information about Lyme and other tick borne diseases, click HERE.
The good news is deer ticks do not carry Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. That is some consolation, I guess.
Now I just need to watch the back of my head for a rash or a red ring. My sons often accused me of having eyes in the back of my head, but I really don't.
Oh well...wish me good luck!
I'm just glad I found the thing and was able to remove it myself with tweezers without leaving any of it sticking in my head. That was good luck! I hope this year is full of good luck. I hope I hope I hope....
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