Embark on a mission to rescue the dog afflicted by ear parasites, a condition that has tragically resulted in the loss of his hearing.

The two-year-old dog became lethargic, thin and listless, deteriorating to the point that it was admitted to a pet hospital for a week for a blood transfusion.

“I was really worried about him,” Ms Powell, an enrolled nurse, said.

Testing confirmed Leo had ehrlichiosis, a disease transmitted through bites from brown dog ticks carrying the Ehrlichia canis bacteria.

But what worried the specialists is that Leo lives in the urban Top End, which some experts fear is becoming a new stronghold for a disease spreading like wildfire.

The first Australian case was detected in the Kimberley region of Western Australia in May last year.

By June, cases were rapidly emerging in Katherine in the Northern Territory and the surrounding remote communities.

A grey staffy-cross with its paw on its owner's knee.
Leo spent a week in pet hospital and still needs regular blood tests and check-ups. (ABC News: Dane Hirst)

The Northern Territory government has recorded 370 confirmed cases — 110 in the Darwin and Arnhem Land region, 149 in the Katherine region, 36 in Tennant Creek and in Alice Springs and surrounds, 75.

Experts say countless more have been left undetected in remote communities with little intervention.

“When we finally got to bring him home, [the vets] said he needs to stay inside, he’s at risk of spontaneous bleeding and he might not make it,” Ms Powell said.

“It was very full-on, very emotional.

“There were tears basically every night.”

Until the first cases were discovered just last year, stringent biosecurity controls had kept ehrlichiosis out of Australia.

Experts are still baffled by how the disease got in but, according to Professor Peter Irwin from the School of Veterinary Medicine at Murdoch University, the disease is now considered “endemic” across the NT.

“Ehrlichiosis is one of the most serious diseases of dogs in my opinion,” he said.

“It makes them very ill, and many dogs can die.

“Once it establishes into a tick population, it’s very difficult to eradicate.”

Common symptoms include lethargy, fever and cloudy eyes, which can be cleared up with antibiotics but, if left untreated, the disease can lead to blindness, uncontrollable bleeding and death.

“The problem with this disease is that dogs travel and spread infected ticks,” Professor Irwin said.

“Dogs that have moved from an endemic area of the community into the city will possibly bring ticks with them, and the ticks can then drop off.

“There have now been dogs with the disease identified in most other capitals, most as a result of travel from the north.”

Doctor Stephen Cutter, the head veterinarian at Darwin’s Ark Animal Hospital, is no stranger to the crippling disease.

He said up to 40 per cent of the dogs are infected in the remote communities of the Top End he visits on rotation.

But in August of last year, he saw his first case in a pet that had not left urban Darwin.

Arielle Giles, a vet at the Darwin Veterinary Hospital, confirmed the disease’s spread to Darwin, saying she had seen six cases in the past three months.

A vet inspects a small dog in a clinic.
Dr Stephen Cutter says ehrlichiosis is now “widespread” across the Northern Territory. (ABC News: Dane Hirst)

“It’s a devastatingly bad disease and it’s really difficult to treat,” Dr Cutter said.

“It’s basically everywhere and it’s now a matter of living with it.”

Both Professor Irwin and Dr Cutter said keeping ticks at bay is the best way to prevent ehrlichiosis.

“Because the infection is transmitted so quickly from the tick bites, the most important way of protecting your dog is to use a product, such as a collar that kills ticks before they bite,” Professor Irwin said.

It has now been five months since Leo was struck down by the tiny parasite and, while he is still getting regular check-ups and his future is looking brighter, vets can’t give the all-clear.

“Ehrlichiosis is really nasty in that it can stay hidden in the bone marrow for a long period of time,” Dr Cutter said.

Earlier this year, the NT government brought on a new coordinator to transition the NT’s response to the disease from a biosecurity threat to managing the outbreak.

“This disease is a nationally notifiable disease, which means that suspected cases of E.canis need to be reported, and free testing can be carried out on blood samples from suspected dogs,” said the chief vet at the Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade, Dr Sue Fitzpatrick.

15 Things Moms Do That Make Them Even More Incredible

Each pregnancy alters your body irrevocably. And we don’t mean the stretch marks or the scars. We mean the forever-changed DNA. Ask any new mother and she’ll list out a litany of things that are now different for her. Like a forgetful mommy brain that, according to science, makes the mother-child bond stronger.

We at Bright Side salute all moms and believe that they are real-life superheroes. To honor all mothers, we found some mommy facts proving there’s nothing like a mother’s love. Or the science behind it.

1. Motherhood changes you, and your DNA.

A chimera is a legendary beast made of different animals. And we are likening mothers to chimeras because every child that a mother carries leaves their DNA inside her. Basically, fetal cells enter a mother’s bloodstream and stay in her body forever. Researchers allege that these cells can affect the mother both positively and negatively. On one hand, it can speed up healing but on the flip side, it can increase the risk of cancer.

So when they say motherhood changes you, it does so at an elemental level as well. Jennifer Garner’s stunning countenance reflects just that.

2. The baby can taste what their mother eats.

Studies show that what a mother eats flavors the amniotic fluid. Something a baby gulps down several times a day. Basically, a baby can taste what their mother eats from within the womb.

study showed that infants whose mothers ate carrots while pregnant seemed to enjoy cereal prepared with carrot juice more than others. So if you want to develop your baby’s palate for healthy, crunchy veggies, chow down on them while you are pregnant.

3. Kissing babies is more “healing” than we think.

Any new mom will tell you that the urge to kiss a newborn is intense. It’s innate and biological in nature. And science says that when mothers kiss their babies, it’s not just love, it’s medicine.

A mother’s body samples the pathogens found on the baby’s face, and more magic happens within her own body. Especially to her breastmilk, the main source of nutrition and immunity for the baby.

4. Pregnant women make enormous amounts of estrogen.

Pregnancy sends a woman’s body into overdrive. The uterus expands to 500 times its normal size and then shrinks back after birth. The blood volume increases and to tackle that, the heart expands a little too.

And it’s not just this, a woman makes more estrogen in a single pregnancy than she would in her whole lifetime if she never got pregnant. There’s a reason why women are exhausted when expecting and need sleep and rest for a healthy delivery and recovery.

5. A mother’s smile is near magical.

Moms are near magic, and so is their smile or affection. While you need your mother at all ages, it’s the helpless infant who is most dependent on their mom.

Studies show that when mothers smile, coo, and show affection to their babies, their heartbeats synchronize into the same beat. So if a baby is distressed, it calms them down. This is the reason why newborns need mothers the most when they are fussy and refuse to be calmed down by other family members.

6. Carrying boys can make you more nauseous.

There’s a reason why little boys are made of “snips and snails and puppy dog tails” or so goes the nursery rhyme. This is because mothers who carry boys are more likely to be nauseous in the first and second trimesters, a study shows.

This is not to say that women expecting girls cannot have morning sickness or that all women who carry boys have more nausea. It’s just that if you are expecting a boy, chances are you may experience more nausea or food aversions.

7. Babies name their mamas.

“Mom, mama, mummy, mamma, ammi, ma, me, emi, mimi.” There’s a pattern in the name for mother in all languages and this is because the “em” sounds are usually the first vocalization for a baby. It’s also the easiest sound a baby can make while babbling. And so it’s our babies who name us and call us mamas.

8. The mommy brain fog is very real.

If you see new moms looking lost, there’s a scientific reason for this. Each pregnancy affects a woman’s brain and makes her lose gray matter. The effects last for around 2 years. Science says that this temporary bewilderment makes mothers closer to their babies as well.

That said, the gray matter regenerates and any confusion or forgetfulness is passing. The bond between a mother and her child is permanent.

9. A mother’s voice is as soothing as a hug.

A study has shown that a mother’s voice, even on the telephone, is as calming as a hug. Researchers introduced stress to a group of girls and then had 1/3 of them hug their mothers, another 1/3 of them talk to their mothers, and 1/3 watched an emotionally neutral film. The girls who spoke to their mothers calmed down much faster, just like those who hugged.

This proves that if you are under stress, your mother’s voice can flood oxytocin into your bloodstream, making you feel better. And we think Jennifer Garner already knows that, pictured here with her mother.

10. Babies can cry in the womb.

The baby’s first cry is not post-birth, rather studies now show that they can express displeasure inside the womb. This can happen as early as 28 weeks gestation.

Researchers played low-decibel sounds on the mother’s belly and could see that the baby opened their mouth and exhibited crying-like behavior. But it’s a silent cry. Researchers also added that this in-vitro crying was nothing the mother should worry about.

11. Pregnancies leave women vulnerable to tooth decay.

Pregnant women are at risk for tooth decay and there are many reasons why. The changes in diet due to cravings may give some women a sweet tooth and the hormones that cause nausea, meaning more acidity on your mouth, to mention a few. This leads to gum disease and decay.

A simple way to prevent it all is by making oral health a priority, especially when you are pregnant.

12. The earliest milk bottle use came to be 7,000 years ago.

As it turns out, the breast/bottle debate is prehistoric. And mamas back then were pretty innovative too. Researchers have found little clay vessels, some shaped into mythical animals with hands and feet, with milk residue in them.

The earliest of them date back to 7,000 years ago and have been identified as prehistoric feeding bottles for babies. The dairy residue has been identified as breastmilk and milk from a cow, sheep, or goat.

13. The Ice Age made human breast milk more nutritious.

Human beings need sunlight to survive because our bodies only synthesize vitamin D in the sun. Allegedly, the last Ice Age should have wiped us out because newborns were not getting any vitamin D, considering the intense cold and lack of sunshine.

Scientists believe that a genetic tweak happened and mothers could transmit vitamin D and essential fatty acids to their newborn babies, and this may have ensured human survival.

14. Pregnancies can be contagious.

A study of more than 30,000 women conducted in Germany has indicated that pregnancy is contagious. It spreads from woman to woman in workplaces, in an endearing way. The results stated that “in the year after a colleague gives birth, transition rates to first pregnancies double.”

So if you are in the workplace and someone is pregnant, expect more pregnancies to pop up.

15. Most mammal moms carry their babies on the left.

Human mothers and even some mammal mamas cradle their babies on the left side of their bodies, closer to their heart. This is irrespective of a left-handed or right-handed mom. Science says that all the sensory information that comes from the left side of the body is processed on the right side of the brain.

The right side is where all the emotions are. And surprisingly enough, babies prefer to keep their moms on their left side as well, so it works for both mom and babe.

Bonus: Celebrity moms speak about motherhood.

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley

“I did start to feel this new sense of life. And now my confidence is so much greater.”

Lauren Burnham Luyendyk

Breastfeeding is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. I’m in awe of the ladies that make it look so effortless, and even the ones who don’t, you are superheroes.”

Do you have any other experiences as a child or a mother that show us that moms are actual superhumans? Share your motherhood stories with us and spread the joy.

Please note: This article was updated in June 2022 to correct source material and factual inaccuracies.

Preview photo credit laurenluyendyk / Instagram

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