My City Wellness Spring 2021

Wellness

FLEAS &TICKS Ýϵϐ Čϵΐΐ̗ϐϥ͜ΐ̗ ř͜ΆΆ˒͜ΔϘ BY JOE HENDRICKS, DVM BRIARWOOD VETERINARY HOSPITAL

We Michiganders slog through our winters hoping for warm spring, summer and fall days. We white-knuckle through the travails of icy roads, snowy days and freezing temperatures with dreams of new life and greener times. And when April does finally arrive, we feel we finally can relax because the warm seasons are here. However, we also come to the realization that along with the season of warm weather comes the season of bugs – those crawling, creeping, flying insects and arachnids of sum mer. And for pet owners, this includes our furry friends’ worst nightmare: fleas and ticks.

Let’s first look at the classic dog and cat parasite, the flea. Fleas have a very misunderstood reputation. Everybody knows about them, but very few of us “get” their lifestyle and life cycle. Start with a gross, blood-sucking adult flea on your dog or cat.That tiny parasite can take a blood meal within seconds of hatching from its cocoon and within 48 hours, can lay thousands of eggs. Those eggs fall from our pets by plain old gravity and depending on temperature and humidity, hatch into even more disgusting larvae (maggots) within a few days. Now, we have these creatures living in our carpets and bedding or wherever your pet lays, sleeps or hangs out. From there, the larvae feed on the feces of the adult fleas which has also fallen from your dog or cat (this flea poop is

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