The Tick Key, www.tickkey.com, does the job quite well. You put it over the tick and slide the narrow slot from behind until the mouthparts are in as far as they can fit.

You may be surprised at how hard the tick holds on, but work slowly until it pops off, preferably into a container that you can put in the freezer.

Etick.ca can be used to identify and report the tick.

My cat has brought in three ticks this spring and summer that I found crawling about while he was on my lap. Cats grooming themselves seem to prevent ticks from embedding.

Doctors can prescribe doxycycline as a precaution.