there are many species of bartonella that do not show up on tick panels. At least that is what i have been told and i am proof that there is such a thing as false negative when it comes to the standard lyme test. THe western blot is the one my lyme forum says is accurate.. THat is how i got in trouble in the first place, i didn't have the western blot, only the cheap one the insurance co paid for.. A big question is if lyme can be passed down from mother to fetus, the big heads say no, but on my lyme board the mothers that have children that are showing signs of all the symptoms are saying yes it can. DOn't know if this is important or not but i thought i would share. ONe woman lost her baby at 5 mths, she has lyme and believes that it cost her baby her life. OThers have toddlers that are showing neurological problems that the mothers have had before, during and after pregnancy. THey toddlers are too little to have symptoms of that severity this early. SO they adamently believe it is lyme. I would ask the breeder if the mother has ever had it, and if she was how long she was treated for it. A good portion of people that have it have never seen a rash. IT is a very sneaky disease.