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As houses go up, deer and other wildlife start showing up in our backyards — with Lyme disease not far behind.

Urban sprawl has done a few things to central Maine. Obviously, it's popped developments in places that used to be open space and led to a number of "Posted: No Trespassing" signs sprouting throughout the region.

One byproduct of all this growth has physicians worried, and rightly so. As houses go up, deer and other wildlife suffer a significant loss of habitat. When they lose that habitat, they start showing up in our backyards — and when deer show up in the neighborhood, Lyme disease isn't far behind.

And not far behind Lyme disease is a host of other tick-borne diseases.

"As cities and towns continue expanding, animals that host ticks are coming into metro areas because they're good places for both feeding and breeding," said Pat Smith, president of the Lyme Disease Association (LDA). "The density of potential tick hosts — ranging from squirrels and mice to chipmunks and deer — can be even greater in suburban than rural areas.

"Bird feeders, gardens and open trash cans all make easy meals for many of the animals that attract ticks."

As those deer and other small animals congregate closer to us, tick-borne diseases are spread — to our pets, to our children and to us. Lyme disease now has its cousins, too, things like canine anaplasmosis and canine ehrlichiosis. They're spreading, and both are just as dangerous as Lyme disease.

Our dogs — whether a skilled birder, a hunting lodge companion or the family pet — are at the greatest risk of contracting these tick-borne diseases.

A crash course: Most commonly reported in dogs and people, Lyme disease causes lethargy and arthritis and can also involve symptoms like fever, appetite loss and depression. Young children are also susceptible because of their propensity to spend their time in the same place as the family pet.

What's alarming, however, is that according to a study by the LDA, 38 percent of dog owners have no idea how their pet can contract the disease. Moreover, of the 77 percent of the people polled who said they knew that dogs could contract Lyme disease, a meager 9 percent thought their dogs were likely to contract it.

Dogs who spend time outdoors, either in the woods or along fields, are at increased risk. Lyme disease is spread from the bite of an infected tick. How serious is the problem for the canine world? According to the Tick-Borne Disease Alert Network, dogs are 50 percent more likely than humans to get Lyme disease.

Of course, it's not just Lyme disease anymore. A tick itself infected with more than one of the diseases, will pass all of them on to whatever it feeds on.

That's why it's so important for dog owners to become ever more vigilant in their monitoring for ticks, particularly as the city expands into the country and we move ever closer to wildlife's front steps.

Because the diseases are at ours.

Veterinary clinics across southern Maine recently reported nearly 800 cases of Lyme disease in dogs and almost 500 cases of canine anaplasmosis in a survey taken last month.

"The range and density of several tick species ... are expanding as a result of climatic changes, wildlife populations and conservation efforts," said Michael Dryden, a professor of veterinary parasitology. "Reforestation, changes in agricultural practices and wildlife conservation efforts have contributed an explosive growth in deer populations — a key factor in the expansion of several tick species' habitats."

Tick-borne diseases can be contracted anytime between March and November, though the Centers for Disease Control reported that most cases are reported in the summer months.

Being aware of the problems of tick-borne diseases is two-fold. While protecting our pets is our responsibility, we could be protecting ourselves, too, by carefully watching the spread of Lyme disease.

When deer and other animals are living so close to us, so,...