Show Us Your Ticks!

If you've been to our Pet Tick Tracker submission form lately, you would have noticed a new link at the top of the form. It directs US submitters to the Show Us Your Ticks initiative recently launched by colleagues at Oklahoma State University College of Veterinary Medicine. They are conducting a national pet tick survey in the United States.

This is an exciting research initiative and in many ways is similar to our program. Just like in Canada, tick populations in the United States have undergone significant changes in the recent past. By conducting a national pet tick survey, they hope to learn more about the types of ticks on dogs and cats and the pathogens that these ticks are carrying. And we hope that together we can learn more about the tick risks for North American pets.

So if you are in the United States, you should submit your tick through the Show Us Your Ticks website. And if you are in Canada, you should continue to submit your ticks through our website. Ticks cannot be shipped across the border, so this provides an opportunity for pet owners and veterinarians in both countries to contribute to surveillance of ticks on pets.

To note, there's also another addition to our submission form. We've added a spot where you can provide your email address if you have attached a photo. There have been many photos submitted and we have no way to follow-up, especially when the tick species is unexpected in this area. It is not required to include an email address, and if you do, we will not use your email address for anything else but to follow-up on the details in the photo.

Enjoy the last few weeks of summer!

KMC