Call me hysterical, but the only thing worse than considering my own mortality is facing my pet's imminent demise.

I know at the end of an all-too-short road there will be me watching my dog, Powder, as she dies. The details change depending on my mood. Sometimes I imagine yelling at the veterinarian for not trying hard enough. Other times the news comes in the form of a phone call.

One recent morning this summer I thought my morbid fantasy turned real when Powder lost the ability to use her hind legs. It turned out she has Lyme disease, a tick-borne virus. At the expense of more than $600 and a long, stressful day I have learned a few things.

First, I spent too much money. Second, the most common signs of Lyme disease in dogs include lameness, fever, lethargy, and loss of appetite, according to Jill Hall, a vet tech with the Butler County Humane Society.

Rather than taking my dog exhibiting these signs to an expensive emergency care facility, I could have made an appointment at a regular veterinarian where they would have tested her for the disease. Typically, it takes a dog two to five months after getting bitten by a tick for the infection to exhibit itself.

Hall said Lyme disease is extremely common in dogs processed at the humane society. Treatment is as easy as giving the dogs a dose of antibiotics once a day for about 30 days.

However, Hall stressed the importance of remembering the medicine won't permanently remove the virus from the dog.

For the rest of its life, a dog will have Lyme disease. For the most part it will be dormant, according to Hall. But sometimes the disease will rear its ugly head and “flare up,” requiring a fresh regimen of antibiotics for 30 days.

“If left untreated, it can be fatal,” Hall said. “The most common side effect is it will go into the kidneys and cause kidney failure. Other organs can get hit, too, leading to death.”

Hall advised running periodic urine samples to prevent a flare up. Protein levels will be higher when Lyme disease is building up, and Hall said regular tests help vets catch it before your pet is in pain.

“(Lyme disease) sounds scary, but if they're going to have something, it's the best thing they could have,” Hall said, adding that “You have to monitor it lifelong.”

Eric Jankiewicz is an Eagle Staff Writer