Poor Ollie was on his last leg. The once active and playful collie was now lying paralyzed on a vet’s exam table, waiting for the drug injection that would lead him to the Rainbow Bridge.

Just days before, Ollie had been with his family, from Portland, Oregon, on a camping trip, romping through the woods and enjoying the good-life. However, after returning home, he started a rapid drop towards death’s door. His owners were alarmed and took him to the vet, who was puzzled by his condition. Ollie was becoming paralyzed, couldn’t urinate or defecate but didn’t show any signs of injury.

According to Fox 12-KPTV, Ollie’s owner, Falline Fate said, “When his mobility was shot and he was paralyzed, it was just weird seeing him just laying there on the floor, knowing he had so much more life in him.”

That was when the decision was made to take Ollie to the vet to euthanize him and relieve him of his suffering.

As Ollie lay upon the exam table and the vet prepared the syringe, an intern stroked Ollie’s head and rubbed his ear…but wait..what is that? The intern felt inside his ear again, and felt a foreign object…a tick.

The vet removed the tick, and 10 hours later, Ollie was back to his old self.

Dr. Stone was quoted by KPTV as saying that although paralysis is rare from tick bites, it can happen. It seems that Ollie had picked-up the tick on the family camping trip.

When a veterinarian was stumped as to what was killing poor Ollie, in this case, it was the loving caress of an intern’s hand, wanting to help guide him in his final moments towards the Rainbow Bridge, that saved Ollie the Collie.

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