Signs of Spring

The weather has been quite balmy as of late: warmish and definitely humid. It's all conspiring to make things grow. The early warning signs of spring were evident on Sunday when Bailey took me for my walk.

Next thing you know it will be time to mow the lawn again!

Bailey developed a "hot spot" behind his ear and down his neck. He scratched so often and so hard Thursday night that he rubbed a raw spot on his neck.

His eyes were bloodshot like he'd been on a three week bender. He definitely wasn't having a good time. We cleaned it, put some antiseptic salve on and a gauze pad to protect it. An ace bandage wrapped around his neck kept it all in place and protected the area from more scratching. Well, that didn't work so well. Some times the bandage was too tight and his breathing would become labored, especially in the middle of the night. Or, it would be too loose and he would work the gauze pad out with his scratching. Naturally he'd have to shred the gauze pad and spread it all over the place for us. And then there was the time the bandage started to fray and he got his scratching foot caught in the stretchy fibers. He had the most forlorn look when we untangled his foot.

We finally were able to get him into the vet. Diagnosis: most likely airborne allergy causing the red eyes and the hotspot. He'd been shaking his ears frequently too. We got him an antihistamine for the allergy and the vet shaved the hair on his neck so the area could get some air and dry out. We also got a mild steroid solution to spray on the area to reduce the itching and promote the healing. Not a pretty sight!

We are pleased to report that he is doing much better now, it's starting to scab over nicely. He has tried to scratch it a couple of times but the pain apparently made the itch possible to live with. Also, spraying it helps alleviate the itch and the occasional antihistamine seems to clear up his head nicely. I guess it's good that we learned about this now, so early in spring. We get an awful lot of pollen when the plants start blooming and especially when the pine trees get their growth spurt. LOTS of pine trees around here. We'll have to watch him carefully.

Daylight Savings Time this weekend, several weeks early this year. Usually I don't mind the government futzing with that, it doesn't cost me any money and I adjust eventually. But I don't know, this just seems awful early for the change. Maybe it's because I haven't experienced the longer daylight days yet. It's throwing my - what would you call it? my solar acclimatization cycle? my celestial rhythm? whatever, this is throwing it off. I'm just not quite ready for it!