#Ticks on #Gizmo: What to do?

Please, get those ticks off of and out of me

         As I was petting Gizmo on the top of his head, I felt a lump, a somewhat sharp protuberance.  I looked at it and it appeared to be a small rock or pebble embedded in his head. 

         I showed it to Grace, who immediately said it was a tick.  But we live in the desert and ticks are supposedly rare.

         She took a tweezers, while I held Gizmo, who relaxed into my arms.  What an amazing disposition!!

         With a small yank, she removed the tick, which was still wiggling.  There was a brown area left in the wound on Gizmo’s head and we thought we had left a bit of the tick embedded in the dog.

         I got a white envelope and we put the tick inside it, licking seal and tightly closing the envelope.  We would have evidence to show the veterinarian when we saw him.
         Oops, we have no vet at this time.  Our previous vet was accused of beating and kicking a recalcitrant German Shepherd (rumored, not exactly proven).  His worse sin was that his offices were in Palm Springs, more than 20 minutes away from us.  I began a search for a new vet, who we would see for the first time as we carried an envelope with an insect in it for his inspection. 

         A pet with a tick fastened to him: a frightening proposition.  Coming from the Midwest, where there are lots of ticks, we worried: can a #dog get #Lyme #Disease?  How can we prevent these little blood suckers from latching on to our dog?  Where did he run across these little disease vectors, when they are not supposed to be in our area?

         “…Sweet sounds of a sunday morning. gentle sway of a fan, the soft breath of my lover, & the sloppy wet sound of a dog licking it's genitals.”  From chimairamark mark hunter