Ticks are important carriers of infectious agents that endanger both pets and people. To understand the circulation of these pathogens, this work examined hard ticks collected from companion animals treated at a veterinary clinic in Hall County, Georgia. Adult, unfed ticks were used for DNA extraction and screened for Rickettsia species using PCR assays, followed by sequencing for precise identification. In total, 204 adult ticks were identified morphologically. Out of 194 DNA samples tested, 38 (19.6%) were positive for Rickettsia. Rickettsia montanensis occurred in Dermacentor variabilis (14.7%; n = 25), Amblyomma maculatum (33.3%; n = 2), and Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l. (25%; n = 4). A single Amblyomma americanum carried R. amblyommatis, and one D. variabilis sample contained R. felis, representing the first detection of this bacterium in both this vector and this region. The findings indicate that domestic animals in northeastern Georgia may be exposed to Rickettsia-infected ticks, reinforcing the need for tick prevention and continued surveillance in pet populations.
