HELP TICK INFESTATION

is there something to help us we have a friend in the hospital and we are help looking after his dog who is infested with ticks i am hiv positive and have no money to help myself is there something that i can get for him or do to get rid of the ticks please desperate in fort lauderdale fl

[Jaybay]

Well, you sure got dumped on, didn't you?  I hope your friend's condition isn't too serious, but I'm glad you're taking the initiative to try to do something for his dog.

Check a pet store for a good flea and tick shampoo, and bathe the dog first.  You'll probably kill a lot of the ticks with that process alone.  Just make sure you read the directions as most of these products need 10 minutes or longer to be completely effective.  For remaining ticks, use rubber gloves and tweezers to remove the ticks.  Grasp the tick by the head and pull out as much of the insect as you can.  Don't worry if the mouth parts stay behind.  Put neosporin ointment on each site as you remove the ticks.

Is there any way your friend could call his vet and authorize a charge card purchase for vet care?   Since the infestation sounds severe, the dog really does need medical care - probably some antibiotics in addition to a flea and tick dip.  A heavy infestation of fleas and ticks can make a dog seriously anemic.  Maybe you and some other friends can pool a little money together to take care of the dog?  It shouldn't be too expensive of a problem, and you can also call some different clinics to get a rough estimate of treatment costs.  Obviously this dog needs a product like Frontline applied once a month to prevent reinfestation.

Kudos to you for trying to help.  I know too many people who would just blow it off.  :-)