Ollie, a 10-year-old Shetland sheepdog, came dangerously close to becoming par.a.lyzed during a hiking trip with his owners, and he was on the verge of being e.u.t.h.anized.
Ollie has always been a healthy and active dog. He loved being outside and going on camping excursions with his family. He wasn’t the same after he returned from one of the hiking trips. Ollie’s family suspected something was wrong when he would just lay about and quit eating.
Ollie became entirely par.a.lyzed not long after. He couldn’t eat or even use the restroom. His family rushed him to the veterinarian right away.
They were unable to determine what was wrong with Ollie, though. His family adored him and couldn’t bear to see him struggle, so they made the difficult choice to put him to sleep.
When a doctor began patting and scratching behind Ollie’s ear while he was getting ready for his treatment at the DoveLewis Emergency Animal Hospital, destiny intervened. The intern then saw a little lump, which turned out to be a bug.
Dr. Adam Stone recalls learning about tick paralysis, a relatively unusual illness. He rapidly went over all of the symptoms, and it came out that Ollie’s symptoms were identical to those of the illness. Ollie’s owners were urged to wait a few days after the tick was gone.
Before sending Ollie home, the remainder of his body was shaved as a precaution to ensure there were no further ticks. Ollie was back to his old self in ten hours. His owners were overjoyed, and they returned him to the clinic to show off his progress.
Ollie’s owners were more than grateful to the medical staff. They will also be careful in the future to ensure that no further tick bites occur.
Ollie was quite fortunate to have escaped eut.h.a.n.asia.
