Scottish couple's 'horrific' experience losing two dogs to 'under the radar' tick disease

A woman has spoken of the devastating experience she went through losing two dogs to a tick-borne disease two years apart.

Molly Robertson, a veterinary nurse living in Angus, said she did everything by the book when it came to tick treatment for her dogs.

It meant when her 18-month-old Labrador, Clover, became unwell, she and her husband, Calum, didn’t know what the problem was.

Clover in the Glasgow University hospital | Molly Robertson

Clover became almost completely paralysed and had to be assisted using a sling for basic needs like peeing and eating.

Mrs Robertson said she and her colleagues carried out endless physio with Clover to try and encourage some movement back, but to no avail.

After spending about two weeks in an animal hospital in Glasgow going through various checks, results from the tick-borne diseases blood test confirmed she had louping ill (LIV).

Clover was 18 months old when she contracted Louping Ill from a tick | Molly Robertson

LIV is viral disease that primarily affects sheep and red grouse, but it can also infect other animals like cattle, horses and dogs. The disease affects the nervous system and includes neurological symptoms such as ataxia, muscle tremors, and paralysis, In very rare cases, researchers said it can affect humans.

The disease is transmitted by sheep tick, according to the British Veterinary Association, which said in its fortnightly magazine, Vet Record, that more dogs are being exposed to LIV since the first fatal canine case was detected about 50 years ago.

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“We had seen cases of it in sheep and that it’s becoming more and more common,” Mrs Robertson said.

“But we just never expected any of the dogs to be affected by it. It was horrific to lose a dog so young. It was such a shock.”

Highlander | Highlander

Molly, a veterinary nurse with Calum, a gamekeeper, and their dogs | Molly Robertson

The couple said they made the tough decision to put Clover to sleep because she had no quality of life.

“She couldn’t walk,” Mrs Robertson said. “We had to take her out to the toilet in a sling and we were having to be full-time carers for her.

“We did as much as we could treatment-wise, but it was recommended to us given she wasn’t showing any signs of improvement, just deterioration, that the kindest thing was to let her go. And so we did.”

After upping the tick treatment on their dogs to prevent another tragedy, the Robertsons were shocked to find out another one of their Labradors, eight-year-old Clyde, Clover’s father, became ill two years later.

Having seen the signs before, Mrs Robertson said she knew it was LIV.

“He’s normally a very happy, bouncy Labrador and he was just being very quiet,” she said. “We had picked a tick off him and he did have a high temperature.”

She said the vet thought it could be Lyme disease, another tick-borne disease that can also affect humans, but Clyde’s condition continued to deteriorate.

The Robertsons had to make the tough decision again to put another one of their dogs to sleep.

“We didn’t want him to suffer,” she said. “I just knew what it was in my heart. Then the results came back and it was positive for louping ill.”

Clyde, Clover's dad, was eight when he died after contracting Louping Ill | Molly Robertson

An edition of Vet Record in 2024 said there had been multiple dog cases in Devon and Yorkshire while also mentioning Clover’s case after she caught the disease in Deeside, Aberdeenshire, in 2021 and Clyde, who caught LIV in the hills in Angus in 2023.

The same day Clyde was put down, Mrs Robertson said she picked a tick off her husband, who works as a gamekeeper.

“It sent me into a bit of a spiral because I thought ‘is he going to get Louping Ill next?’

“Sheep are dying, grouse are dying now dogs are dying. If nothing is done, cases are going to grow and grow and what happens when we lose a human to it?

“It’s something that’s gone under the radar, but it’s good to see it’s coming to light a bit more.”

There is no licensed vaccine against LIV in the UK. The Moredun Research Institute (Moredun), researching the disease, has developed a new generation vaccine against the disease in sheep.

However, campaigners pushing for a rollout said the usual route to market through pharmaceutical companies was not possible due to the treatment’s niche UK market. It means commercialisation is going to require industry funding.

Last month, the Scottish Government said it would provide match-funding of up to £100,000 to support the development of a new vaccine against the disease. The offer is available until the end of December this year.

At the time of the announcement, Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon said: “Continued investment in veterinary vaccine research is crucial for sustainable livestock farming, reducing antibiotic use, and supporting rural economies.

Prof Tom McNeilly, Mairi Gougeon, Jim Fairlie and Dr Beth Wells of Moredun, who is part of the LIV vaccine campaign | Moredun Research Institute

“This investment offer of up to £100,000 in match funding will help Moredun develop a new vaccine against Louping ill, a disease that those working in the agriculture sector will know can devastate flocks.”

Moredun is crowdfunding to further develop its vaccine, with the first phase requiring £720,000.

Commenting on the government funding, professor Tom McNeilly, scientific director and chief executive of Moredun, said: “This pledge takes us a significant step closer to making a new louping ill vaccine widely available to farmers.

“But to unlock that funding and deliver this product, we need the support of the wider livestock industry. With continued support from the wider industry and farming community, we’re confident we can reach our goal and bring this vital product to market.”

In the meantime, the Robertsons said they continue to use what preventative treatment they can to avoid further cases in their dogs.

“It’s important to get a prescribed tick preventative treatment,” Mrs Robertson said. “There are many you can pick up in the shop, but it might not be the right strength of drug to stop the tick attaching. All it takes is one bite. I would recommend if people are concerned to talk to their local vet or get in touch.”

Mrs Robertson urged dog owners to be vigilant when back from a walk with their dog and to have a tick remover on them.

“I think the tick problem is getting bad in Scotland,” she said. “I’d say in the last ten years, we’ve seen double what we normally see. We’ve definitely seen a big rise in them attaching to the dogs and ourselves when out and about on the hill.”