Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Thank dog

A friend at work had to put her dog to sleep yesterday.

I gave her a hug, but that doesn't really reach the place that's hurting.
So I'm going to take this opportunity to express my gratitude that -- for today -- my dog is in good health.

The Atopica has stopped her non-stop itching-and-scratching, and her fur is growing back. What's strange is how it's growing back. She used to be a traditional black-and-tan German Shepherd Dog. Now the tan (more like blond-laced-with-silver, these days) fur is growing back, but the black overcoat is not. Very strange. On the down side, this means she still has to wear a coat on mildly chilly days, even on mildly chilly days in July. On the plus side, at least she's once again a recognizable breed.

Used to be people would stop and stare: "What is that?" I was tempted to tell people that I had that very rare breed, "the Giant Chinese Crested Dog. Very expensive [well, that part's true enough] and rare in this country." One sign that Tanji was getting better was the last time we left the vet's office. A man coming in stopped to let us pass, and he said the magic words: "That's a German Shepherd, right?"

Clearly a highly intelligent man. I should've checked to see if he was wearing a wedding ring. Probably was; the good ones usually are. [And some of the not-so good ones, but I digress.]

Oh yeah. This is supposed to be a blog about exercising.

Exercise du jour: Cycling a minimum of 8 miles. 16 miles would be better.
Semi-fail. Did a few miles in the morning, but when I got into work I found that they'd opened up panels in the ceiling to work on the ducts. Within 3 hours, I'd developed allergic reactions so bad that I had to go home. Exercise was not an option. Breathing was the priority.

5 comments:

Roxie said...

I'm so glad that your girl is getting a bit of relief. I cannot imagine how frustrating her condition is for you both.

Good thoughts to your coworker. Losing a pet is tough.

Hey, don't be slamming on 8 miles. It's a laudable goal. Leave it at that!

Have a good one.

English Rider said...

Good news that your dog has been relieved of itchy ailment. Her darker coat may reappear in the autumn as her undercoat grows in for winter.

VRaz60 said...

Glad to hear that your dog is on the mend. Quite frankly, I enjoy a short diversion from the exercise info. I find myself wandering away from that more and more often lately. :)

messymimi said...

Hooray for a healthy pooch!

No, don't bother to envy another woman her husband, no matter how smart he is. For all you know, he might also be an insufferable know-it-all at home, impossible to live with.

Good luck on the exercise.

Cat said...

You might have the color return when it gets to winter time. One of my cats had a shaved area that was an "off" color until it became cold again... ?

And go for the gusto! 16 sounds great! I upped my walk by 10 minutes, so great for you to do, too! (Am I perky enough? Yoiks. Just keep workin' at it...)