Unidentified tick found on dog

Observation by Arlene Gunderson:

Tick was found on a dog in Sand Point. The dog has not been outside of Alaska.

Comment by LEO Network editors:

Thank you Arlene for your post. We have a few tick observations in LEO Network from Alaska. Mostly these are resident ticks that have been found on dead wildlife. Invasive ticks however, are an emerging problems related to climate change and other host species like deer that are moving into Alaska. Sometimes ticks hitchhike on people or pets that were traveling outside of Alaska. Dog ticks seem to be established now and are a growing problem in some areas. You can see some of these stories in the related posts. We do not have any tick posts (local or invasive) from the Alaska Peninsula. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has set up a tick monitoring program, and we are forwarding this post to two of the leaders of this program, State Veterinarian Kimberlee Beckmen and Micah Hahn with UAA Institute for Circumpolar Health. Mike Brubaker

Comment by Kimberlee Beckmen:

The picture is not diagnostic to species but it is an engorged female Ixodid tick, the most frequently found tick native to Alaska would be Ixodes angustus, the vole or squirrel tick.

Comment by Micah Hahn:

Thank you for your submission! It's tough to identify ticks from a photo, particularly when they are "engorged" (i.e. they have just taken a blood meal from a host). The most frequently found tick in Alaska is Ixodes angustus, the vole or squirrel tick. Definitive identification can be made if submitted to the Alaska Submit-a-tick program. For more information, please check out the Office of the State Veterinarian tick website: https://dec.alaska.gov/eh/vet/ticks/submit-a-tick/