He's in the wrong 15%

I learned today that my dog Scout may be part of a small, rare group of dogs. Those that don't respond to 2 years of allergy injections. Poor Scout went for his monthly allergy shot today. He's in a bad way and looks like he has mange. If you are a human who suffers from allergy season, you will empathize. It was no surprise to find that yes, he has a skin infection. And yes, I had to break out the checkbook for skin scrapings, fungal tests and a round of antibiotics. At one point the doc asked if I had seen a difference in Scout since we started the allergy injections. I gave him an exasperated look with a hint of peavishness. I think the only thing I've noticed that has improved since I started giving the dog allergy injections is the model of car my veterinarian drives. That's when he said that about 15% of dogs just don't respond to allergy injections. Imagine that, my little overachiever! 

On the way out, the receptionist made some sort of comment about pet vet insurance. 

"Just what I need," I growled. "One more insurance company drowning me in daily paperwork to inform me that I have to provide proof of insurance, of coverage, that the doctor's visit/test/medication was necessary, and oh by the way, we're not covering that." 

With the paperwork our new insurance company has blanketed us with in the last 8 months, I could have wallpapered my entire house. The last thing I need is to jump through a bunch of hoops for vet pet insurance while they take my monthly payments and refuse reimbursement. 

You know at the very least I should be able to set up a flexible spending account for my vet bills. Maybe I'll write to Barack Obama. He's working on revamping health care, right? And now he's a dog owner. So, he'll understand. 

Windsurfing, and other things dogs don't like

So I got to thinking after my last post about things that people think dogs will love to do . . .but they won't. Like windsurfing. Below is a list of the top 5 things dogs absolutely  do not like to do. So please, if you've got a dog, don't:

(5) Take your dog to the mall to have his photo taken with Santa (or the Easter Bunny). Have you ever noticed that no one really wants to see those pictures of your kid with Santa, much less your dog?

(4) Dress your dog in clothes. Really? What do you think that fur coat is for? The only exception is halloween, when dogs can wear costumes, but only if you let them trick or treat, too.

(3) Wear shoes or boots. Unless it's snowing or the pavement is 150 degrees . . .no wait. I take that back. Never. Put shoes. On your dog.

(2) Race around a dirt track chasing an electric rabbit while fat, old, drunken white people yell at you. 

(1) Push your dog in a wacked-out stroller. Dogs like to walk. And sniff. Riding in a stroller is humiliating, especially in front of other dogs.

I would promise to post a list of the top 5 things dogs love to do. But, if you have a dog, you know. That list is endless!!!

Adult Child of Dog Lover

I heard a great story on NPR a few weeks ago. It was a piece by Emily Yoffe of Slate.com in which she discusses the difficulty of being an ACDL, the Adult Child of a Dog Lover. It can be hard when you grow up and realize that your parents have replaced you with a dog, or two.

Meet SuperMimi's dogs, whom I'll call Good Boy and SpitThatOut, which the dogs assume are their actual names since she constantly says "good boy" to the male yorkie and is most likely heard screaming "spit that out" to the female.  

Thanks to Good Boy and SpitThatOut, and the number of cute yorkies that came before them, I could identify with being an ACDL. There was a lot in the NPR piece that sounded familiar. Like when you grow up and come back home to visit your mom and dad and see that dad will spend hours throwing the ball in the yard for the dog, but, you realize, he never threw the ball in the yard with you as a kid. Or that your mom, who can be so astute at pointing out her adult children's shortcomings, thinks the dog who jumps all over you, pees on the floor and tries to eat off your plate is perfect. 

So a few weeks ago, I was visiting SuperMimi (and of course Good Boy and SpitThatOut) when my mom pointed out that I was becoming more and more like her everyday. But not in a good way. 

"You know, I'll never forget, when you were a teenager and we would be fighting, one of your favorite things to say is 'I'll never be like my mother!' Now look at you,  you're becoming more and more like me every day," she says as she grins evily. "You've got kids and two dogs that you dote on just like me."

I admit, I was not the easiest teenager to live with. And yes, I'm sure I spat out the phrase "I'm never going to be like you" to my mother at least a dozen times back then. And guess what. She remembers. Every. Time. I said it. And. Reminds me. Often. In front. Of others. 

Today, I not only sound like my mom and resemble her physically, I work from home in my own business, just like her. And I love dogs. Just like her. 

So if you're the adult child of a dog obsessed individual, take a listen to Emily's piece on NPR. It's like therapy, only free. 

Crazy Dog Ladies

I attended a committee meeting this week. All the committee members are women. Half of us have kids, all of us have dogs.

We were making small talk when the subject of our pets came up. I read in the newspaper this week that although the economy is bad, it has not affected what people are spending on their pets. We're still spending like crazy on our dogs. And I do mean crazy. Consider the expenditures of the members of my committee . . .

One spent $8,000 for her German Shepherd to have a knee replacement

One spent $4,000 on chemotherapy for her Schnauzer

One paid for her bulldog to have a corneal transplant (no price divulged)

And I have been taking my Corgi to get allergy injections for the last year and a half. Cost to date approximately $1,200.00.

The youngest member of our committee is a woman in her late 20s who adopted a dog last year. Us older, crazier dog ladies encouraged her to get vet insurance for her dog. Now!

With the advent of medical treatment for pets, dog and cat owners are often faced with a decision you would never have had to make 20 years ago. On the upside, there's no longer a reason to put a dog down for a bad knee or cancer when it can be treated and the dog can have a good quality of life. On the other side, the costs can be like euthanasia to your bank account.

November is Shelter Dog Month

The month of November is "Shelter Dog" month, a time when I have a great excuse to extol the virtues of shelter dogs. Not that I need an excuse, as I have become such a supporter of my local shelter since adopting a little more than a year ago.

By the way, those of you who know me in my real life and who read this blog, can skip past this post. Really. It won't hurt my feelings. I know you hear enough about this from me on a regular basis.

But for the rest of you, meet Radley (as in Boo Radley). I adopted him just over a year ago. Before adopting him, I had some real misperceptions about shelter dogs. I'll list them to save time.

1. Shelter dogs had something "wrong" with them. Otherwise, they wouldn't be in a shelter.
2. Shelter dogs would be ill-behaved and hard to train. Time spent in the shelter would somehow affect their behavior negatively and permanently.

3. Unlike adopting a puppy, which you raise practically from day 1, an adult dog would come with "issues."

All of these assumptions are absolutely wrong. There's nothing wrong with shelter dogs, but maybe there was something wrong with the people he/she previously lived with. Some people just don't take the responsiblity of owning a pet seriously and will simply discard a pet when it becomes inconvenient.

Shelter dogs, especially adult dogs, are some of the most loving, well-behaved and grateful - yes grateful- dogs you'll ever encounter. I raised my pedigree dog Scout from puppyhood and Radley is much better behaved than Scout (and what does that say about my dog training skills?!?).

Puppies are only puppies for a short time. Why go through potty training, obedience training, long nights of puppy crying, and the dreaded teething/chewing phase? Adult dogs are already past all that and just as cute, charming, funny, and loving as a puppy.

I know that I am the third home for Radley, a Welsh Corgi-Australian Shepherd mix. For the life of me, I can't understand why anyone would ever give him up. He's sweet, loyal, friendly, well-behaved, great with the kids, wonderful with my other dog, and a great companion.

Adopt a shelter dog and you'll be adopting a lifelong friend!