Happy Days Are Here Again

It has been almost four months since my last blog post. Four months! In my defense, I spent the last two and a half months walking my leper dog on a leash.

We had gorgeous weather here the first half of November, and I took my dog out to play with other dogs in off-leash parks multiple times each day. When we picked him up from Thanksgiving boarding, I spotted a white growth on his tongue, which soon became multiple white growths. A Google search and a vet visit later, we had a diagnosis...canine oral papilloma virus, otherwise known as "puppy warts." Do NOT Google this term unless you want to see some pretty nasty images. I had recurring nightmares over what I saw!

The vet said that the virus would clear in two to four months as my dog's immune system fully developed but that my dog was highly contagious and could not play with other dogs. Major lifestyle change. My leper dog and I could no longer visit the wonderful parks in our neighborhood, at least not when other dogs were around, and the dog parks were completely off limits. No more doggy daycare or boarding, which meant NO breaks from dog care for me. We did every variation on leash walks that I could come up with and frequented the nature preserves (yes even the one where the guy crept up on me last summer), where I had to put my dog back on leash whenever another dog approached.

We tried raw food, supplements, and two courses of zithromycin. I even took my dog to the vet twice to have the growths crushed with a hemostat (sorry!), in the hopes that releasing the virus into the bloodstream would stimulate an immune system response. Nothing. Then, about 10 days ago, I checked my dog's tongue, and it was completely clear. The growths had literally vanished overnight without a trace. Amazing!

God was looking down on us as the virus cleared just as the weather turned from miserably cold (and a week of snow and ice in January) to 68 and sunny. In February! We were able to return to off-leash fun just as the other dogs and their owners were venturing out in full force again.

Happy days are here again!

Shirts Optional

Every morning after I see the kids off to school, I down a quick breakfast and cup of coffee, glance at the paper, then head out with the dog to one of our neighborhood parks (unless it's Monday, in which case we walk the golf course). One of our favorites is Winn Park, and we typically run into at least a few dogs and their owners there. Several times this week, we've seen a new dog (to us) and his owner.

This morning, I finally got around to introducing myself to the dog's owner, who told me that he was "Robert," and asked if my kids had been on the neighborhood club's swim team. A light bulb went off in my head, and I realized that he was "Coach Robert." I immediately responded, "Coach Robert! I didn't recognize you with your clothes on!" Ha!

Background...Coach Robert was quite popular among the swim team moms this past season. He is this gracious young Southern gentleman who also has an amazing body (remember, we saw him daily in his swim trunks) and a drop-dead gorgeous face. I have friends who unabashedly told me that they signed their kids up for individual lessons with Coach Robert just so they could sit poolside for half an hour and ogle him through their sunglasses. How could I not have recognized him in his street clothes? All I can figure is that the first time I saw him at the park with his dog, he was sitting on a bench with another guy, so I pegged him as one half of a gay couple (which he is not). (This is not much of a stretch as I live in a neighborhood with one of the highest gay populations on the East Coast.)

Looking forward to more mornings at the park with "Coach Robert" and his dog. Now if I could just figure out a way to make those park outings "shirts optional" for the guys...