Madeleine Gaunt knows all to well the dangers of a pesky tick.
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The Bulli mum nearly lost her beloved black labrador Jet after he was stung by a paralysis tick last year.
The dog had been roaming in bushland with Mrs Gaunt's children when they noticed their pooch seemed a little more tired than usual.
The next day, Jet was completely paralysed, unable to move, bark or even lift his head, forcing the family to rush him to Mrs Gaunt's Austinmer vet practice for treatment.
"I looked under his collar and found two enlarged ticks under there, it was horrendous," the veterinary nurse said.
"It was just awful seeing him like that; we'd had him since he was nine weeks' old so we were all very worried about him.
"It was lucky he didn't end up with respiratory complications as many dogs end up not being able to swallow, it can be devastating."
Jet spent five days in hospital and took nearly a week to fully recover. Mrs Gaunt said Jet was three weeks overdue for a tick application, proving the need for pet owners to keep up-to-date with their dog's tick prevention regime.
"It's so important to keep up that prevention, especially this time of year," she said.
"People think summer is tick time and yes, it is seasonal, but we see a lot of cases this time of year when the weather starts to warm up."
Mrs Gaunt's story came as dog owners flocked to Sandon Point reserve on Saturday for the Love Your Dog festival which aimed to educate people on the dangers of ticks and provide some pampering and games for pooches.
Mrs Gaunt advised owners to avoid bush walks with their dogs during spring and to inspect them regularly for ticks.
"You can feel them, it's like a big bump," she said.
"Most of the time they get under the collar but they like crevices behind the ears and between the toes too."