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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Kennewick man, dog learn hard way that it’s tick season again

In this photo taken on Monday, Arnold Porter and his schnauzer, Roxy, pose for a photo at Bateman Island. (Associated Press)
Loretto J. Hulse Tri-City Herald

KENNEWICK – An Easter stroll on Bateman Island turned into an all-night battle for Arnold Porter, of Kennewick, and his miniature schnauzer, Roxy.

Walking the trails on the Richland island, Porter didn’t realize the underbrush was infested with ticks until he discovered one crawling up his arm hours later.

“I’ve found one once in a while after I’d been out hiking so I didn’t think much about it,” he said.

Roxy gets regular doses of a common tick and flea repellent, so Porter wasn’t too worried about her.

But after he got home and found several more creepy crawlies on himself, he checked Roxy.

“I’ve never seen anything like it. I found 10 or 12 just on one paw,” he said.

The Mid-Columbia’s spring and the early summer are a bad time of year for ticks, said registered nurse Heather Hill, the Communicable Disease Programs supervisor for the Benton Franklin Health District.

“We get a lot of calls this time of year. A lot of it is people starting to get back out into the environment where ticks live, like Bateman Island and the grassy areas along the rivers,” she said.

While it’s disconcerting to find ticks on your body, she said, they will wander around for hours and hours before latching onto you.

So if you check yourself and your dogs after being out where ticks live, you do have time to remove them before they bite.

Hill recommends using a fine-tooth comb to run through your hair and your dog’s hair too.

After spotting the ticks on Roxy, Porter made a hasty, late-night trip to the store for a bottle of flea and tick shampoo.

“I gave her a bath at midnight and when I rinsed her off, it was awful. There were easily 100 or more dead ticks on the shower floor, both full grown and little ones,” he said.

The Washington state Department of Health website advises if you find a tick embedded in your skin or in your pet, use a pair of fine-tipped tweezers to remove it gently.

Grasp the tick right at skin level and pull upward with steady, even pressure without twisting or jerking. Then disinfect the area.

The state says if you develop a fever, rash or flulike symptoms within a month, contact a doctor.