Chest Pains

Having a dog in the house has been awesome.

1. I wasn't afraid to be alone in the house overnight. If anyone tried to break in, I was assured that my dog would knock over the intruder and proceed to drown the individual in a flood of drool, which would buy me the time I need to summon help.

2. There are way fewer crumbs on the kitchen floor after meals.

3. After 7 months of unemployment, the hubby has finally started getting up before me to let the dog outside. And he hasn't complained even once!

4. I get the BEST greeting from my puppy when I get home from work. Her whole butt shakes because her tail is wagging so hard.

5. It's nice to be adored, even if it is just from the dog. She's right next to me when I'm home, glued to my right hip. Makes me feel special.


On the down side--and let's face it, we knew there had to be a down side--the living room does have a little bit of a doggie smell. It seems that I'm the only one who can smell it. Nobody else notices it. I've always had a sharp sense of smell, even sharper since I had my adenoids removed, so maybe it is just a problem with me. I vacuum a lot to help with that.

Even further down on the down side is the chest pain. I love my dog, but since we've had her, my asthma has been flaring up. I don't know why. I was fine the first few days, just a little sneezing, which I thought was normal, but it's been getting worse. German Shorthaired Pointers are on the list of "less likely to cause allergic reactions" dogs. My eyes are watering and red all of the time, I go through a box of tissue every two days, and the wheezing is getting a bit out of hand. I know it's something in the house (i.e., dog, because after I'm at work for a few hours, I'm totally fine). I see the allergist next week, and I'll see what he says, but right now, the suspicion is that I'm NOT allergic to Harbor's fur, which is what I thought the problem was at first, but that I may be allergic to her saliva. And pointers do drool. A lot. Josie's eyes have also been puffy and she's had a flare-up of her eczema and a rash on her face.

If we have to give Harbor back, I think I'm going to be experiencing a different kind of chest pain. The heartbreak variety of chest pain.