Analysis

I discovered something about myself today. I am a bad pet owner! All growing up, my family had pets - a few dogs (at different times), guinea pigs, turtles, rats, fish, worms, etc. I was always so excited to have my own family and house so that I could have a dog all my own. A year into our marriage, I begged Mike to 'just go look' at a litter of puppies. Little did he know that I had my check book ready in my purse. Using my great power of persuasion, we came home with a 6 week old puppy...Taz.

Taz has really been a great dog the past 3 1/2 years. He doesn't bark, bite, whimper, etc. He has never once snapped at Dylan; shoot, the poor dog never even whined when his eyeball almost exploded (no joke, it almost did)! He potty trained very quickly and has maybe one accident a year in the house - and that accident is usually my fault for not letting him outside when I should. He doesn't beg for table scraps, he doesn't chew shoes/clothes/furniture. He is a REALLY good dog who loves to snuggle up next to me, Mike, or anyone who will give him attention.

A few days ago, Dylan had a strange bump show up on his leg. It has changed shape, form and color over the past 4 days and I was beginning to worry that he may have been bit by a deer tick or worse that he has some form of staph infection. So, I called the nurse at his Dr's office this morning to discuss the situation. I am now putting Hydrocortisone cream on the spot for the next 5 days and if it doesn't go away, call back and take him in. We are thinking it is a reaction to the chicken pox vaccine he received at his check up a couple weeks ago.

You're probably wondering why the Dylan story is relevant to my being a bad pet owner, well here is the reason. Taz has had a red belly for several months now. He is constantly licking and scratching at it. He is also a couple months overdue for a vaccine. So, I finally took him to the vet today to get the vaccine. As an afterthought, I decided to ask the Dr about his itchy belly. She took one look and discovered that Taz has a really bad yeast infection on his skin. She then proceeded to tell me that yeast infections will typically start in the dog's ears. So, she cleaned out then peered into his ears. Sure enough...yeast central! So, this poor dog has been walking around with a pretty serious infection for several months now because of my neglect. Dylan has a spot for a day and I freak out. Taz, however, has to suffer silently for half a year! $214.00 later, Taz should be on his way to recovery...finally.

Like I said, bad pet owner award should come my way.