Day 1550

If you looked up “dog with a sore ear” in the dictionary, a picture of our Sammy just might appear. At The Big White House, our older boys have been dealing with the side effects of allergies! Even with their “Cyto-point shots”, they still struggle. Ranger is doing pretty well, Sam has an ear infection and poor Gus is trying to chew off his paw! Goldens are highly susceptible to allergies of all types!

Years ago, when Ranger was a young dog, his allergies flared so dramatically that our veterinarians suggested we take him to a specialist. Years later, we now know that there are many canine specialists to help our boys, but then, it was a novelty.

Walking through the door of the clinic in Bloomington, we were amazed to see canines with every imaginable, visible allergy reaction…poor babies! They were all so miserable, they didn’t even bark when we joined the group. Misery loves company, but this waiting room was far beyond even caring what the other patients had!

When it was our turn, we went back and hoisted Ranger up on an exam table. I requested no sedative, so they began by shaving one side of his body. Injecting 53 individual needles, it was time to marvel at Ranger’s pain threshold and wait for the results. Soon, one of the injection sites began to turn an angry red. The doctor told us it showed an allergy to corn dust. Next came linen fiber and then HUMAN DANDER! Our sweet boy was allergic to US!!!!!

Finally, a fourth and final injection erupted in a flaming mound. The doctor asked if he could call a few staff members in to see this, since it seemed to be a “first” for him. Slightly concerned, we nodded.

A few technicians arrived and looked at poor Ranger’s side. A couple smiled, one laughed out loud and the doctor announced that our sweet boy was ALLERGIC TO CATS!

Well, we can’t get rid of linens, corn dust during harvest or his humans, but we can control the cat population in the house!