Of ticks and prairie dogs

---

Of ticks and prairie dogs

Friday, 19 June 2007

A brief interlude here to mention the ticks and prairie dogs that are very prevalent here.

We first became aware of the ticks in Moosomin, on our way out. To be honest, I had one in my underwear, not exactly what I wanted to discover. Needless to say, I’ve been a bit paranoid since then. And so has Bob - he woke up one morning here in Moose Jaw to find one on his pillow! Panna too has picked up numerous ticks, which we’ve picked off her, usually before they settle in. I picked up some of the Hartz Mountain tick & flea repellent/killer, which will hopefully lessen the problem. Fortunately, according to the Saskatchewan Department of Agriculture, the ticks here do not seem to carry Lyme disease, which is the big “curse” of ticks in some parts of the U.S. & Canada.

One reason Panna keeps picking up ticks is she loves to go through the long grasses to get to the prairie dogs, which absolutely almost litter the place, at least in Moose Jaw. I can’t cycle a kilometre down the road in the suburbs, which is where our motel is located, without seeing at least 100 prairie dog corpses in various states of decomposition. They have absolutely no street sense whatsoever, compared to squirrels and chipmunks. And there are a LOT of them, again, especially where we are staying, and wherever there is green space, as in parks and fields and along pathways - their holes are everywhere, much more prevalent than groundhog holes in Ontario farmers’ fields. And despite it all they are so cute!

But Panna has never seen them before & they just drive her crazy - they are so fast, they just bound down their holes whenever she tries to chase them & then she digs like she’s insane at the hole trying to get at them. Bob has seen this more than I, as he’s been the principal dog-walker lately. Oh well, it gives her something to do & if we’re diligent about checking for ticks, I’m not too worried about her.

---