Tick-borne diseases including Lyme disease, ehrlichiosis, and anaplasmosis cause significant suffering in dogs that is largely preventable through effective tick control.
Dogs with untreated tick-borne disease experience chronic pain, fatigue, and in severe cases organ failure causing significant ongoing suffering. Lyme nephropathy — kidney failure from immune complex deposition — causes progressive suffering and is often fatal despite treatment. Many owners are unaware of tick disease risks in their area or underestimate the severity of potential illness. Consistent year-round tick prevention eliminates most tick-borne disease risk. The geographic expansion of tick populations means that areas previously considered low-risk now require prevention consideration. The discomfort of tick attachment itself represents a welfare harm that effective prevention eliminates entirely.