Luck

Good.
Kelly is tick free (I think)!


Bad...
On Tuesday of this week, I realized all of a sudden that Kelly. Had. Ticks. Not just one or two. She had ticks like some dogs have fleas. She was infested. Hmmm, how do I put into perspective just how many ticks we're talking about here...? Ah, yes. There's an idea... ... .. .... .. .

.. .. ... . .. O.. .. .....

. ...... .... .. .... .. . ..... ... ... .

.. Ooo ... ..... O o o o o...

. . .. ... ..... .. .... . .

. .. O ..... ....... ....... ... ... .o... ... ..... .... . .. ... . .

.. ..... ........ ....... ..........

. . . .. . .o O.. .... ... ...... ...... ..

....O

Did you try to count them? Did you lose track? Yeah, me too.


UGLY!
They were probably deer ticks. You know, the kind that frequently carry Lyme Disease. Thankfully they were mostly nymphs (baby ticks... awwwwww how cute), as in they wouldn't have had time to bite an infected deer prior to stowing away in Kelly's furryness.

It appears likely that she picked up an entire batch of eggs. Those dots up there? Just about actual size. These bastards were small.

I found three of them on Luc! We're supposed to watch him for about 30 days for any sign of fever or rash.

I spent most of the day on Tuesday picking them up off the floor, the sofa, the rugs, and Kelly.

I took her to the vet* and they gave her a bath**.

My skin has been crawling for three days. I close my eyes and I see ticks. I might need to go see a doctor*** myself.

We haven't dealt with the house yet, besides daily vacumming followed by examining all surfaces on hands and knees with a flashlight and tick collection unit (Ziploc bag) in hand... but I do have a call in to a pest management company****.

* $$$
** $$$$$
*** $$$$$$$
**** $$$$$$$$$


Ugh.
I've been feeling kind of down on my luck lately. And this absolutely takes the prize for awful luck! So, I'm convinced that something has to go right (and soon). Stay tuned for my next blog post in which I report that the mother of all somethings has finally gone right.