'A canary in the coal mine:' California dogs increasingly exposed to tick

Statewide rates of dogs testing positive for exposure to the bacterium that causes anaplasmosis nearly tripled between 2021 and 2024.

The same ticks that spread anaplasmosis also spread Lyme disease.

Experts see this as a potential early warning sign for people in the Golden State.

Dog owners may need to be on alert for a disease many have never heard of — anaplasmosis, spread by the same tick that transmits Lyme disease.

Anaplasmosis can make dogs feverish or lethargic, turn their nose up at food and lose weight, but many show no sign of illness at all. In rare circumstances, though, dogs can bleed from the nose, have neck pain and suffer seizures.

The percentage of dogs across California that tested positive for exposure to the bacterium that causes anaplasmosis skyrocketed in the l