If the Bee Stings

A very sick little dog.

Is this the saddest little face or what?

My poor little boy had a rough weekend. He started it out by stepping on a bee. I watched him for symptoms like difficulty breathing, swelling, hives and excessive drooling, but he didn’t have any of these. What I didn’t realize was the tiredness and soft poos he was having were signs of a reaction bad enough that he should see a vet. (I was blaming the tiredness on Benedryl.)

Should your pup come out the loser in an encounter with a bee, first remove the stinger. (The pup will not like this.) Then put a baking soda paste on the wound. (The pup will not like this.) Apply ice to help with the pain. (The pup will not like this). Then give a Benedryl. (The pup will really like this if you wrap it in peanut butter!)

Along with the Benedryl, I gave my boy some of the topical cortisone spray I keep on hand for his hot spots. It isn’t as strong as what the vet would have given him, but it did seem to bring him a bit of relief.

Be safe around those bees this Summer!

Flashback Friday

Can you find the puppy hidden in this picture?

Carn terrier puppy hiding under a chair.

When Bitey was little, this was his favorite hiding space…until he got too big and needed help getting back out. Wasn’t he an adorable itty bitty beast?

In instances like these, I try to envision non-linear time. What might it be like to have your little dog with you as a puppy and a senior and every step in between simultaneously? I suppose we have that with memory, but to us the points of time don’t fall together but are strung apart. I imagine that in the world beyond this one, time is non-linear.

I guess we won’t need Flashback Fridays then! : – )

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Watch Out, Peppermint!

Toby and new stuffed girlfriend looking off into the distance. Isn’t this cute? The two of them are even starting to look like each other!

Watch out, Peppermint. Someone new is after your man.

This is Toby’s new “girlfriend”. You may recall from Poopiter that my boy has a particular fondness for his toy peppermint. Now, though, there is a new lady in his life. This little gal doesn’t have a name yet, but I think she needs one. Any suggestions?

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No Dignity When It’s Hot

Cairn terrier sleeping upside down in undignified pose.

I have seen pictures of “cat thermometers” where the more the kitty is stretched out, the hotter the temperature. If you have a pup, the more absurd the sleeping position, the hotter it is. As you can see, we clearly were having unreasonably warm weather this day.

The mercury in the window thermometer reached over 120 in the sun. It is rare even in August for that to happen.

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Formaldehyde in Wrinkle Resistant Fabrics

Two Cairn terriers sitting in the grass.

This year for Mother’s Day, my boys very thoughtfully got me a pretty, new set of sheets for the bed. As I opened the plastic to remove the sheets, I quickly had to set them down because of the itchy red rash I got from touching them. Not only did they cause redness and itching, but they had a very strong chemical odor to them.

Not sure of what was going on, I checked the packaging and saw that these were “wrinkle resistant” sheets. I Googled the term and found that what makes a fabric, in this case cotton, wrinkle resistant isn’t the way it is woven (as I had thought) but that the fibers are infused with formaldehyde to cause them to swell and not bend as easily.

I know that formaldehyde can be used in the sizing on fabrics to make them appear crisp when displayed, but I hadn’t known it was bonded to the fibers over something as unimportant as wrinkling. Formaldehyde can cause skin irritation, breathing difficulties and of course it is a carcinogen. Since formaldehyde is absorbed through the skin, every time you lie on treated sheets or wear wrinkle resistant clothing, you are exposing yourself to this poison. Sadly, there is no government regulation requiring disclosure for formaldehyde use.

A big concern should be our children and grandchildren being exposed this chemical. As a parent, I would not have given a second thought to the term “wrinkle resistant” on my child’s sheets – I would have chosen a print he/she would enjoy. I would be horrified to find that I had exposed someone I love to something so dangerous. And don’t forget our furkids. If your pup or kitty sleeps in the bed with you, they are also breathing and touching carcinogens.

Fortunately there are a number of companies who still sell regular cotton sheets at pretty reasonable prices. Cotton can be treated with a lot of pesticides as it is grown, so if this a concern look for organic sheets manufactured in the US. Organic regulations are more strictly enforced for domestic products than foreign ones.

So, if you are making a purchase of bedding or clothing, please be aware of what might be coming home with you uninvited.

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Life Gold

Go away.

For some reason, my favorite pictures are the bad ones.

When Geordie got sick, a neighbor told us about Life Gold – Dog Cancer Support . Her dog had been diagnosed several months before and has been taking it ever since. At his latest check up, the vet said that the dog is doing great and to keep doing whatever it is the family has been doing.

I started Geordie on Life Gold as soon as I could have it delivered. At this point, I can’t testify to it altering the length of his life yet, but I feel confident in saying that it has significantly improved his quality of life.

Before his diagnosis, Geordie had been kind of laid back with lots of napping. The clue we had that something was wrong was that he would cough from time to time. Since giving him Life Gold, though, it is as if he is 5 years younger! He has taken up playing with toys again, and he even invites me to play chase with him. In the evenings, after Toby has gone to sleep, he drags his little brother out of bed and insists Toby play with him. This goes on every night! Plus, he barely coughs now.

I realize that Geordie’s cancer isn’t cured, but it is wonderful to see him living such a full and happy life. I wanted to share this in case someone reading has had a pet diagnosed with the dreaded “C” word. Life Gold isn’t expensive, and it might just help your dog to feel better and you both to be happier.

I forgot to mention one other thing I noticed about Geordie and Life Gold. Whenever he went for his chest X ray, the vet was a tiny bit concerned that he had lost 3/4 of a pound. For a while, he simply hadn’t been very interested in his food. After starting Life Gold, however, he developed a healthy appetite and has gained enough weight that he looks like a healthy terrier again.

Pick up a copy of A Tired Mommy Is a Good Mommy which tells of Bitey’s life before Toby.

Available from Amazon.

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Flashback Friday

Tiny Cairn terrier puppy tucked into his kennel with his toys.

I was looking for a photo today when I stumbled across this picture of itty bitty, teeny tiny Bitey. Sometimes it is hard to believe he was really that little puppy. Back then he didn’t like to go to sleep without his toys around him.

What you can’t see in this picture is that I used to put his brush on top of his kennel so that he couldn’t get to it and chew on it. He managed to thwart me by jiggling the kennel until the handle fell through the bars then attacking the brush from the inside.

Why do pups only solve problems for evil and not for good?

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