bugs, bugs all around

Sadie recovering from her ordeal....

What a day for bugs! What is it about the month of May that brings them out? Whatever it is, they were in full bloom at my house. Sadie woke me up at 5:45am, jumping on the side of my bed like she was gonna blow, and then after she went out all she wanted to do was eat - what's new? Anyway, her behavior had me all freaked out because she was acting exactly how she did last year when she had a mast cell tumor - bad, bad experience for both of us. So I scanned her over and sure enough found a bump on her side. It didn't feel the same as a tumor, at first I thought it was a skin tag, but when I shined the flashlight on it I realized what I was looking at - a tick! Ahhh! A tick! Nasty little blood-suckers. Sadie's had a tick before, but I've always caught them before they've burrowed into her skin. Eeek, the thought alone gives me the chills. So I iced it, picked it out with tweezers, then dunked the little-sucker in a cup of water. After that I washed all of the sheets and doggie beds in hot, hot, hot water. I called the vet to see if I could get the tick tested but was directed to six different numbers before getting an answer! Can you believe that? Six different numbers only to find out that nowhere in Contra Costa County do they test ticks for lyme disease. Perhaps if I was calling on behalf of myself they would have given my call more precedence. But for my dog.... no. Eventually I was re-directed to the mosquito infection control center where I was supposedly going to be told what to look for in a lyme disease infected tick. Tell me, what does mosquito control have to do with ticks? At this point I threw my hands up. If six different health organizations all within Northern California weren't concerned about my dog getting lyme disease, then why should I? I hope I don't regret my decision. Not that mosquito control could have done anything. Now I'm just going to watch Sadie like a hawk to make sure she doesn't show any signs of the dreaded Borrelia burgdorferi bacterium. I'll be kicking myself if that ever happens.

Meanwhile, while Sadie was resting up from her ordeal, I went on a run where I encountered bees, bees and more bees. Three ginormous bees flew at my face and one tried to crawl into my baseball cap. I must've looked like a freak to the car passing me by as I ripped off my ball-cap like a maniac and shook it out. Then as I neared my house I saw two men standing under a tall, yellow tree looking up. I knew what they were looking at. The week before I had walked under that same tree when I heard a synchronized buuuzzzzzzzz. Bees. Lots of 'em. Sure enough they had a nest. Reminder to stay away from that side of the street.

Now can I help it if I can't stop itching.....