T(r)icked

I don't know where these ticks are biting me that I can't see them.

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Here is the stupid little b*st*rd that bit me. I sent it to the Northeast Wildlife DNA Laboratory to be tested for Lyme and other diseases. It turned out, this guy was clean. He didn’t carry a single illness.

Since my Western Blot test came back positive, that means a different tick bit me, unnoticed, and gave me a fresh dose of Lyme. What mystifies me is, I’ve seen engorged ticks on my pups. They are visibly noticeable even on a dog with shaggy fur. How can I possibly keep missing these things when they bite me?!

Out of curiosity I looked up whether it is possible to get Lyme another way, but it looks like no. A statistically significant number of people who get Lyme, though, never knew they were bitten.

The moral of my story is: ticks suck. No wait, the moral of my story is that even if you tuck your pants into your socks or have your ticks tested, you still might miss the one that “got” you.

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Why don’t you get protection like I’ve got? Then you’ll be safe!

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(As a funny side note, my blog is more popular in China than it is in the US. I wonder what they are learning by reading humble Bitey Dog?)

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Dream Our World

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Find out what Murphy’s Cairn brothers are up to when no one is looking as you travel with them to the Museum of the Imagination in Dream Our World .

Inside the museum, Geordie and Toby view the world of art from a canine perspective while enjoying a day of unsupervised fun. There are many hidden gems inside Dream Our World, and it is a joy for all ages. Treat yourself to a read that is both fun and educational!

Dream Our World, and other fine gifts, are available from my shop at L Bowman Studios.

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Spoon Pie

Grab your gear, mom made "Spoon Pie"! "Spoon Pie"? Yum!

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"Spoon Pie"? What's "Spoon Pie?"

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There's no such thing as "Spoon Pie". I just didn't put enough thickener in with the blueberries.

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(Yup, these were the juiciest blueberries I’d ever encountered.)

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I don’t care. I’ll eat it right out of the pan if you let me.

(Just call me “Blue Beard”!)

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Dream Our World

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Find out what Murphy’s Cairn brothers are up to when no one is looking as you travel with them to the Museum of the Imagination in Dream Our World .

Inside the museum, Geordie and Toby view the world of art from a canine perspective while enjoying a day of unsupervised fun. There are many hidden gems inside Dream Our World, and it is a joy for all ages. Treat yourself to a read that is both fun and educational!

Dream Our World, and other fine gifts, are available from my shop at L Bowman Studios.

20 CommentsLeave a comment

Unheeded Warning

Ack!

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I could have told you that garden was a bad idea, man.
Seriously, you couldn't bee more stupid.

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Something has been eating the low-hanging tomatoes (unfortunately they’re all low-hanging tomatoes this year), and I suspect it’s Ack and his family. Murphy is upset because believes all tomatoes – low or high – are his.

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Hey losers, don’t you realize this garden is for me?!

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One good bit of news is that there have been reports of stray cats in the neighborhood. I heard a couple of them getting better acquainted several nights ago. A few cats out hunting can do wonders for keeping these critters in check.

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Hey you two, get over here. Mom wants help hunting a rabbit. Ooh, I couldn't hurt a bunny. I'm a lover, not a hunter. Yeah, me too. I'm a lover, not a hunter.

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You are not a lover, you're lazy! Now get your butt over here and help! New Guy, you get a pass 'cause you're still new, but next time you'd better hunt!

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Thank heavens we cats can hunt.

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Dream Our World

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Find out what Murphy’s Cairn brothers are up to when no one is looking as you travel with them to the Museum of the Imagination in Dream Our World .

Inside the museum, Geordie and Toby view the world of art from a canine perspective while enjoying a day of unsupervised fun. There are many hidden gems inside Dream Our World, and it is a joy for all ages. Treat yourself to a read that is both fun and educational!

Dream Our World, and other fine gifts, are available from my shop at L Bowman Studios.

10 CommentsLeave a comment

It’s Cooold Outside!

January 7th 2014 4:38 pm

This morning, when it was still super cold out (around -12), I asked Geordie if he wanted me to put his coat on him before we went outside. He said yes and actually stood still for me to put it on him. When I opened the door, he flew outside and pooped right away. (Trust me, that is a rarity for him!)

This evening, he came to me again, asking to go out. I asked him about wanting to wear his coat, and he said yes. (His fur still isn’t very thick after losing so much of it to his flea bite allergies. Baldie!) I took him out, and he ran across the snow to do a big pee. Afterwards, I tried to get him to come inside right away, but he said no. This usually means he has to poo, so I tried to walk him around a bit. Unfortunately, it was too cold for him, and he started to curl up into a ball. You can see the pain on his little face when this happens! I grabbed the nearest paw to see if it needed to be thawed, but it wasn’t icy like they usually are when he cringes like this. I tried to get him to run for the house again, but he kept saying that he had to poo. Oh dear! My poor guy had to go, but he couldn’t stand to be on the ground to do it!

Finally I picked him up and brought him back inside. My thought was to warm him up until he could go out quickly and take care of business. Then I remembered those boots I bought him a long time ago. I asked if he wanted “socks”, and he said yes, so I dug them out. He actually didn’t fight me when I put them on him, and when we went outside, he acted as if he were totally comfortable. He walked around a little while, then he did his business and did that scratch dance thing afterwards. He didn’t want to come in right away because he wanted to bark at a neighbor’s car. What a difference it made when my boy was warm! Thank heavens it isn’t going to be this cold again tomorrow. We should be able to go back to our normal, wardrobe routine.

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Don’t Mess With Bitey Mom’s Garden…

…or she’ll have you killed!!! Mwahaha!

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I could have told you that garden was a bad idea, man.

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Murphy isn’t typically very interested in the garden, but as soon as those bees moved in, he kept wanting to go inside. I was happy when the bees were taken care of so I didn’t have to worry about my little guy getting hurt (and I could get to my sadly overgrown squash).

Normally I don’t like to hurt bees, but those guys were a**holes.

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Can I go in the garden now? I hear there are squishy tomatoes inside!

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Dream Our World

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Find out what Murphy’s Cairn brothers are up to when no one is looking as you travel with them to the Museum of the Imagination in Dream Our World .

Inside the museum, Geordie and Toby view the world of art from a canine perspective while enjoying a day of unsupervised fun. There are many hidden gems inside Dream Our World, and it is a joy for all ages. Treat yourself to a read that is both fun and educational!

Dream Our World, and other fine gifts, are available from my shop at L Bowman Studios.

17 CommentsLeave a comment

Third Time’s The Charm

Adulterated, borrowed image.

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Yup. For the third time in four years I have this stinking disease. (The national average is once.)

Tick 7/14/26

Here’s the little a**hole that gave it to me. When the doctor asked if I knew how long the tick had been attached, I lied and said I didn’t. Conventional medical wisdom says it takes 24-48 hrs to transmit. This was on me 20 minutes. I was afraid if I told the truth I wouldn’t get help.

Of course I started showing symptoms on a Friday and had to wait until Monday to call the doctor. When I called Monday morning, they couldn’t see me until Thursday afternoon. Everyone at the office asked if I had taken a preventive dose of antibiotics. (I didn’t realize that was an option!) If someone shows up for an appointment with a tick bite and Lyme symptoms, doctors are supposed to prescribe a course of antibiotics RIGHT AWAY. Instead this office made me do a Western Blot test which if you’re lucky takes a week to come back with results. Now I’m at more than 5+ weeks with this stupid disease, and have to take the long course of horse pill antibiotics.

Needless to say, Bitey Mom is not a happy camper. Unfortunately, she is too tired to do anything about it.

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I’ll be tired with you, mommy!

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Newest Member of an Unhappy Club

What happened to you? I was stung by bees.

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On your face? No, my left hand. Then what happened to...? Hives.

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And the tongue? Anaphylaxis. Ana-what? Quit making fun of me!

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I should have known something was wrong on Wednesday. Both mower batteries ran out right when I got near the garden. Then the string trimmer ran out of string. Did I take the hint and retire for the day? No, I re-threaded the trimmer, charged the batteries and powered on…into a nest of ground bees.

It didn’t take long before I was at Urgent Care getting prednisone and Benedryl injections. The photo is what the Benedryl shot did to me.

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Now I am the latest, unhappy member of the Epi-Pen Club. I know I’m not the only one out there, but this is all very unfamiliar to me. I’ve had anaphylactic reactions before, but no one has taken me seriously when I talked about them. This time the doctors actually saw it, and I think their responses are freaking me out.

I picked up my pens at the pharmacy today, and I was surprised at how large they are. I’m trying to picture me carrying them everywhere I go. And then, where do you keep them so they are easy to get to? How do you know for sure when to use them? If anyone would like to share their experiences, I would be happy to learn.

For now the pens are still in their pharmacy bag sitting on my desk. I mean, if I ignore them, the problem will go away, right?

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I’ll guard the door. No bees will get in here!

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Murphy has been very attentive to me this week. I think he realizes I don’t feel well.

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The Other Plank In Your Eye

You seem to have a little something in your eye. Still?

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Bitey Dog is my diary, so I am writing this post more for myself than anyone.

A week after having surgery to remove a foreign object from my eye, I had to go back for a re-check. Unfortunately dopey me made the appointment at the same time as Murphy’s vet appointment. Rather than trying to reschedule, my folks said thy would be happy to take Murphy to the vet.

My appointment: The object in my eye turned out to be embedded further than the doctor originally thought, so I required a second surgery. That visit taught me about something new: a contact bandage. I was confused when I first heard the doctor talking about them. “Aren’t all bandages, by nature, ‘contact’?”, I wondered. Then all I could picture was a beige Band-Aid stuck to my eye. No, a contact bandage is a non-prescription contact lens that is used to protect the injury site, make the patient more comfortable and help the eye heal more quickly. Neat!

Murphy’s appointment: Murphy was a good boy at him appointment, but unfortunately the diuretic he was on damaged his kidneys. The vet changed his medication a little and gave him kidney supplements to hopefully help them heal. He would need more blood work in a few weeks to see how the changes affected him.

All of this happened in late May. If I were a truly creative person, I would have taken us on a time-travel trip back to May in a TARDIS!

Who can travel in a TARDIS? Exactly. “First base”!

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Dream Our World

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Find out what Murphy’s Cairn brothers are up to when no one is looking as you travel with them to the Museum of the Imagination in Dream Our World .

Inside the museum, Geordie and Toby view the world of art from a canine perspective while enjoying a day of unsupervised fun. There are many hidden gems inside Dream Our World, and it is a joy for all ages. Treat yourself to a read that is both fun and educational!

Dream Our World, and other fine gifts, are available from my shop at L Bowman Studios.

18 CommentsLeave a comment

Speculating About Spirits

if when you were alive you were frequently drunk, and when you died you were drunk, would your ghost be a drunk? Uh...

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Eh, you're right. Probably more of a dry drunk. No booze on the Other Side.

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Um, I’m asking for a friend…

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An Armed Forces Themed Alphabet Quilt is a great way to introduce little ones to the world Mommy and/or Daddy work in. it could be a gift to a hero who has already served.

Each picture is hand appliqued and hand embroidered. There is an incredible amount of detail in this piece, taking hundreds of hours of work. The method used for making this type of quilt is paper-basting applique which is done entirely by hand. First each block is broken down into colors, then paper pattern pieces are created for each color. Starting from the background to the foreground, each each layer is sewn with tiny stitches, then pull the paper out either from the back or the side. After this, all details are embroidered by hand. Once assembled, the quilt top, batting and backing are basted and quilted. The binding is also applied by hand. The border on this quilt is quilted in a stars and stripes swag design. Quilt has not been pre-washed, so when you do wash it, it will develop that lovely, crinkled look. Each quilt I make is not only a quilt, but a work of art.

This Armed Forces Alphabet Quilt and other fine gifts are available at my shop at L Bowman Studios.

9 CommentsLeave a comment

Cuddly Puppy

Why aren't you a cuddly puppy? The idea of a cuddly puppy is a myth created by companies wanting to sell dog food and by pet adoption sites.

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By canine standards I am a fully grown, virile male. I enjoy hunting and killing I want to spread my seed and make more hunters like myself.

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Can I still hug you? So long as no one is looking. I do have a reputation to uphold.

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You can hug me….especially if it’s raining.

Geordie was a funny guy. For the most part he was a very brave and independent pup. Once in a while, though, he would get his feelings hurt or scare himself with thoughts of the boogeyman, and the he wanted mom to make everything better.

I’m still here if you need me, puppy!

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An Armed Forces Themed Alphabet Quilt is a great way to introduce little ones to the world Mommy and/or Daddy work in. it could be a gift to a hero who has already served.

Each picture is hand appliqued and hand embroidered. There is an incredible amount of detail in this piece, taking hundreds of hours of work. The method used for making this type of quilt is paper-basting applique which is done entirely by hand. First each block is broken down into colors, then paper pattern pieces are created for each color. Starting from the background to the foreground, each each layer is sewn with tiny stitches, then pull the paper out either from the back or the side. After this, all details are embroidered by hand. Once assembled, the quilt top, batting and backing are basted and quilted. The binding is also applied by hand. The border on this quilt is quilted in a stars and stripes swag design. Quilt has not been pre-washed, so when you do wash it, it will develop that lovely, crinkled look. Each quilt I make is not only a quilt, but a work of art.

This Armed Forces Alphabet Quilt and other fine gifts are available at my shop at L Bowman Studios.

14 CommentsLeave a comment