Fighting Tick-Borne Diseases in Dogs
Did you know ticks and the diseases they transmit can be found in all 50 states, and that tick-borne disease can be transmitted through a tick bite in as little as three hours?
While most people are familiar with Lyme disease, many other tick-borne diseases such as anaplasmosis, babesiosis, bartonellosis, hepatozoonosis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever and ehrlichiosis can also be transmitted by infected ticks, and can cause serious and fatal illnesses in both dogs and people.
Felton is Samantha Wright’s 10 year-old German Shorthaired Pointer. As a senior dog, Felton has routine bloodwork at wellness exams every six months. Last spring, Felton was diagnosed with ehrlichiosis. Samantha followed the treatment plan outlined by Felton’s veterinarian, and thankfully he recovered quickly.
Many of CHF’s supporters have shared similar stories of a beloved dog having been diagnosed with a tick-borne disease, or a human family member or friend with a diagnosis of Lyme disease, ehrlichiosis or Rocky Mountain spotted fever.
That’s why the AKC Canine Health Foundation’s Tick-Borne Disease Initiative is so important. The initiative aims to educate dog owners and to find new and better diagnostics, preventatives, and therapeutics for our dogs.
With your support of the initiative, CHF will award much-needed research grants for new and innovative approaches to understand and treat tick-borne diseases. As an added incentive, all donations to the CHF tick-borne disease initiative during 2016 will be generously matched dollar-for-dollar by the American Kennel Club (AKC), up to $250,000!
As part of our educational outreach, you’ll find access to our free resources on ticks and tick-borne diseases at www.akcchf.org/ticks. The research we fund through this initiative will provide an innovative approach to understanding tick-borne diseases and will benefit all dogs.
On behalf of Felton, and dogs everywhere, thank you for your support!
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Help Future Generations of Dogs
Participate in canine health research by providing samples or by enrolling in a clinical trial. Samples are needed from healthy dogs and dogs affected by specific diseases.
