Elwood endured a heartbreaking 13 days in hospital on life support after missed pest control dose

Steve estimates he and his family have owned about 10 dogs over the course of 30 years, and not once had any of them suffered a tick bite after a visit to the beach.

But after a trip to Pearl Beach on the Central Coast of New South Wales last year, Elwood suffered two tick bites that left him fighting for life in hospital.

Now, Steve is speaking out about the heartbreaking ordeal to prevent other families going through the same thing, or worse.

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After returning home from their trip, Steve noticed the eight-year-old Norwich terrier was unsteady on his feet and off his food.

Initially treated for gastroenteritis, Elwood's condition worsened, so he went back to the vet where a nurse spotted one tick on his muzzle and the other on his rib cage.

The ticks were well hidden thanks to Elwood's luscious fur.

"As soon as you hear tick, you go, 'OK, this is bad'," Steve tells 9honey Pets.

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"The vet had come back into the console room and said, 'Look, we found two ticks on him, we're shaving him down, we're putting a breathing tube in, and we're gonna rush him to SASH (Small Animal Specialist Hospital), meet us there'."

What followed was a rollercoaster 13 days in hospital, including 11 on a ventilator after experiencing a cardiac arrest.

There was also a fear he would lose an eye due to his inability to blink while sedated.

While visiting Elwood Steve was stunned to find that 40 to 50 per cent of the intensive care unit at SASH during that time were tick patients. He heard some of the other pets hadn't survived while others had recovered enough to go home.

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It was touch and go for a while, but soon enough Elwood pulled through.

"There was three or four days of attempting to get him off the life support, which the first couple of days wasn't successful and then he was slowly getting better and better," Steve says.

"Then before you know it he's standing and eating and going outside for walks – the doctor actually fell in love with him and took him to the coffee shop for breakfast and lunch in the last couple of days – and then [we could] bring him home."

After returning home, Elwood was back to his old self within a couple of weeks with Steve crediting SASH and the amazing team there for his dog's survival.

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With none of his or his family's dogs ever suffering a tick bite during their visits to the Central Coast, Steve thinks the only possible reason for Elwood's bites is missing a dose of his tick control.

"You're sort of racking your brain in the hospital, trying to think, 'Did I give it to him last month or did I give it to him the other week?'... I normally just base it on when I get a text or [other reminder] but obviously, I just missed the text or missed the reminder and just forgot to give it to him," he says.

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Steve is urging other dog owners to find a good brand of tick control and then work out the best way to remind yourself when each dose is due.

"Put it in your diaries, put it on repeat on your calendar, whatever you need to do and they have to have it regularly, so whether it's quarterly or six monthly or monthly – we've come down to monthly now. 

"We put it on in both our phones, on the calendar, on the fridge, we made it on a date that was memorable with my wife's birth date, so the 14th of every month. 

"For me, the reminder is that if you miss a dose they're not protected and if they're in an area where there's ticks around they're gonna get one and it can be extremely bad."

Remembering to give your dogs or cats their monthly tick control dose isn't the only warning for pet owners.

Vets are also reminding them that ticks aren't a seasonal issue but a year-round concern.

"People may only think that the risk is in the spring and summer, but tick paralysis cases can happen throughout the year, including winter. Many cases we see need intensive care, including mechanical ventilation, which can be emotionally difficult for pet owners. Sadly, some pets don't survive," Dr Tim Hopkins. emergency vet at SASH Northern Beaches, says.

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As part of National Tick Awareness month, NexGard SPECTRA has set up a website full of information on how to search for ticks and what to do if you find one.

Dog and cat owners are encouraged to do daily tick searches on their pet in addition to using tick control products.

To check for ticks:

1. Gently move your fingertips ('finger walk' them) through the coat at the level of the skin, over every aspect of your pet feeling for any bumps.

2. Start the search at the head and neck, remembering to check in the mouth and ears. Continue down the front legs to the paws, checking between the toes and underneath the paws. Then search the chest, belly, back, tail, back legs, paws and toes.

3. Remove the collar and search for ticks that may be hiding underneath it.

4. If your pet has a long coat, consider clipping the coat (including the head and tail) during periods of increased risk (particularly spring and summer) to make searching for ticks easier.

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