preparing to feed can take from 10 minutes to 2 hours. When the tick finds a feeding spot, it grasps the skin and cuts into the surface, where it then inserts its feeding tube. Many species also secrete a cement-like substance that keeps them firmly attached during the meal. The feeding tube can have barbs to help keep the tick in place. Ticks also can secrete small amounts of saliva with anesthetic properties so that the animal or person cannot feel that the tick has attached itself. Therefore, unless one feels the tick crawling, noticing the tick is difficult. If the tick is in a sheltered spot, it can go unnoticed and can slowly suck the blood for several days. If the host animal has a blood-borne infection, the tick will ingest the pathogens with the blood. Small amounts of saliva from the tick may also enter the skin of the host animal during the feeding process. If the tick contains a pathogen, the organism may be transmitted to the host animal in this way. After feeding, most ticks drop off and prepare for the next life stage. At its next feeding, it can then transmit an acquired disease to the new host. Symptoms of Rocky Mountain spotted fever appear within 3-12 days, usually beginning with a sudden onset of fever and headache, and frequently followed 2-4 days later by a rash around the wrists and ankles that moves slowly up to the rest of the body. Other symptoms include nausea, loss of appetite, abdominal pain, or muscle aches. Rocky Mountain spotted fever can be fatal within days of symptoms beginning, if left untreated. In dogs additional symptoms may include lethargy, blood in the urine, irregular heartbeat, discolored spots on the skin (often bruised or purplish in color), inability to walk normally, loss of coordination, swelling or edema in the limbs, sudden bleeding from the nose or in the stools, difficulty with blood clotting, swollen lymph nodes, pain in the eyes, inflammation, hemorrhage, or conjunctivitis in the mucosal membranes. Symptoms of tularemia usually appear within 3–5 days, but can appear as late as 21 days after transmission. Oftentimes, patients experience chills, swollen lymph nodes, and an ulceration at the site of the bite. A tick bite does not automatically transfer diseases to the host. Instead, the tick must be attached to the host for a period of time, generally 6–8