Monday, May 26, 2008
ALLERGIES, FOOD PREP, AND DOGS
I went to the doctor for allergy testing last week. This is the third time in my life that I have had allergy testing. Each time, they have told me basically the same thing. In addition to things like dust and mold, I am allergic to cats. When they told me that this time, all I could think was "Well, that's funny because they actually taste pretty good with a little A-1 Sauce."
(My apologies to any cat lovers out there. I AM JUST JOKING! They actually taste best when stir-fried with Soy Sauce and Worcestershire Sauce.)
They did tell me something sort of new this time with the allergy testing. They told me that I am allergic to dogs. I have always known this but it is the first time testing confirmed it. From practical experience, I have found that large shedding dogs stir up my allergies. That is the reason my family has always had small, non-shedding dogs.
How many dogs have you had in your life? I think I have blogged about mine before but I have now had four dogs in my life at various points. Two when I still lived with my parents and two since Lisa and I have been married.
The first dog Lisa and I had was a Maltese-Pomeranian mix named Chelsea. She weighed about six pounds and she was a beautiful dog. Until a hormonal problem caused her to lose all her fur. (Turns out she took after my side of the family.) Then she was rather pathetic looking. She looked like one of those horrible hairless Chinese crested dogs or whatever they are.
She was an extremely smart little dog. I am pretty sure she understood the entire English language as well as several Mandarin dialects. We had to take to spelling things around her and eventually she even figured that out. She scored a 32 composite on her ACT and a 2360 on her SAT. She missed a perfect SAT score by just 40points and that was because she didn't have opposable thumbs so holding a pencil to fill in the little circles was a challenge for her and she wasn't able to get the entire test completed in the time allowed.
But, along with being brilliant, Chelsea was also pretty neurotic. Getting her to eat was often a challenge and everything had to be done in specific routine. Unfamiliar noises or vibrations would terrify her. She also had some health problems. Two of her knees had to have surgery. And, when she was in pain, she played it for all it was worth.
Our current dog is the four-pound poodle I have written about before. Her name is Abby and, yes, this is the dog I sat on once. Her eyes, I am sure, grew very large as she saw my rather imposing back side close in on her.
Anyway, Abby is showing her age these days. She's always seemed like a puppy but in recent months, she walks a little slower, jumps a little less high, sleeps a lot more, doesn't like to get up in the mornings, and doesn't seem to hear as well as she used to. I hope she's around for a good many more years but she will be 12 this fall. She's been an incredible dog. Always very healthy, very loyal, and very loving. She's not the smartest dog in the world but sometimes I don't think dogs have to be smart to be incredible companions.
Abby is pretty much attached to Lisa whenever Lisa is at home. She is most of the time by her side or on her lap. And Lisa is very attached to her. I have a follow-up appointment next week with the allergy doctor. I hope he doesn't make too big of a deal about the dog allergy. I'd sure hate for Lisa to have to get rid of me.
(My apologies to any cat lovers out there. I AM JUST JOKING! They actually taste best when stir-fried with Soy Sauce and Worcestershire Sauce.)
They did tell me something sort of new this time with the allergy testing. They told me that I am allergic to dogs. I have always known this but it is the first time testing confirmed it. From practical experience, I have found that large shedding dogs stir up my allergies. That is the reason my family has always had small, non-shedding dogs.
How many dogs have you had in your life? I think I have blogged about mine before but I have now had four dogs in my life at various points. Two when I still lived with my parents and two since Lisa and I have been married.
The first dog Lisa and I had was a Maltese-Pomeranian mix named Chelsea. She weighed about six pounds and she was a beautiful dog. Until a hormonal problem caused her to lose all her fur. (Turns out she took after my side of the family.) Then she was rather pathetic looking. She looked like one of those horrible hairless Chinese crested dogs or whatever they are.
She was an extremely smart little dog. I am pretty sure she understood the entire English language as well as several Mandarin dialects. We had to take to spelling things around her and eventually she even figured that out. She scored a 32 composite on her ACT and a 2360 on her SAT. She missed a perfect SAT score by just 40points and that was because she didn't have opposable thumbs so holding a pencil to fill in the little circles was a challenge for her and she wasn't able to get the entire test completed in the time allowed.
But, along with being brilliant, Chelsea was also pretty neurotic. Getting her to eat was often a challenge and everything had to be done in specific routine. Unfamiliar noises or vibrations would terrify her. She also had some health problems. Two of her knees had to have surgery. And, when she was in pain, she played it for all it was worth.
Our current dog is the four-pound poodle I have written about before. Her name is Abby and, yes, this is the dog I sat on once. Her eyes, I am sure, grew very large as she saw my rather imposing back side close in on her.
Anyway, Abby is showing her age these days. She's always seemed like a puppy but in recent months, she walks a little slower, jumps a little less high, sleeps a lot more, doesn't like to get up in the mornings, and doesn't seem to hear as well as she used to. I hope she's around for a good many more years but she will be 12 this fall. She's been an incredible dog. Always very healthy, very loyal, and very loving. She's not the smartest dog in the world but sometimes I don't think dogs have to be smart to be incredible companions.
Abby is pretty much attached to Lisa whenever Lisa is at home. She is most of the time by her side or on her lap. And Lisa is very attached to her. I have a follow-up appointment next week with the allergy doctor. I hope he doesn't make too big of a deal about the dog allergy. I'd sure hate for Lisa to have to get rid of me.
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