“I see TICKS.”

It’s only mid-May and the score is tied: Olive 2 and Patti 2. So far, I have picked two ticks off the soft pink underbelly of Olive and one off my leg and the other off the back of my head last night. (Gross.) Thankfully, none of the four were sucking the lifeblood out of either of us.  I am however, not inclined to continue using the mass market flea and tick killers any more. Olive hates when I apply Frontline to her. She behaves as though it burns or itches and I’m guessing that it burns like hell. She tries desperately to rub it off, getting on her back and wriggling all over the carpet and sidling up to the base of the couch and stretching her back alongside it. Really. Could there be any more clear sign that it bothers her? When she was a pup, the first few times I applied it, I would actually see her skin “shudder” while she was sleeping under my desk. Let’s call these “medications” what they really are: pesticides. Pesticides. Pest as in “bug/insect” and “cide” as in “kill” or “slay.” Capable of killing living things. Toxic. It doesn’t seem like too much of a stretch to consider that the cause of diseases like lymphoma in dogs may in fact be the result of years and years of applying pesticides to their skin which is absorbed into their bloodstream and probably slowly breaks down their immune system. Like a slow acting poison would.  I’m done with the mass market products. Although we live in an area that is “tick-rich,” and that makes the risk high, I think Olive’s risk is counter-balanced by a few things. First, she’s had a lyme vaccination. 2. She has short fur and hardly any underneath, making it pretty easy to spot ticks (Although the other day I thought the tick was a nipple.) 3. At bedtime, I roll her on her back and inspect her like a Border Crossing Guard. “SHOW ME YOUR ARMPITS OLIVE. NOW LIFT YOUR LEGS.” She seems to find this exercise mostly unusual and partly annoying, but she tolerates it. So this week, I am going to start applying Buck Mountain Organic Parasite Dust. The instructions are to “sprinkle the dust from head to tail along the spine and brush against the hair to bring the dust into contact with the skin.” I already consulted with Olive’s veterinarian who replied as I thought he might (and as I might if I were a Vet), “It’s safe to use. Will it work? I don’t know.” On balance, I think I’ll try this low risk alternative. Better than treating my dog like she’s a patch of lawn I’m applying pesticide too.