This image looks way more interesting in sepia that it did in color–why is that?
On Saturday, we went on a not-so-fun road trip. We took Tisen to see a doggie dermatologist to get allergy tested. His allergies have been getting worse and worse and he’s been getting more lethargic.
We skipped his antihistamine the night before and the morning of so as not to interfere with the allergy test. This had a profound effect on his energy level. When I took him for his morning walk, instead of feeling like I was walking a pet turtle, I was having to double-time it to keep up. In fact, he actually galloped the last 100 yards back to the building, charged down the hall, and then ran all over the place once we were home, chasing me and tossing his toys around like a puppy.
It made me sad to realize how much the drugs had been affecting him. My poor boy.
What a silly face!
We loaded him into the van and took off for Louisville. That’s Louisville, Tennessee–there are not many unique city names in the Eastern US.
In any case, Louisville is just outside of Knoxville. It reminds me a little of the Lake of the Ozark’s in Missouri in terms of scenery, but it’s not ridiculously over-developed–or if it is, they hide it well.
We arrived about 30 minutes ahead of schedule, so we made a stop at Admiral Farragut Park. There, we found a nice little walk by the lake, a good strong breeze, and a sign that told us about Admiral Farragut who was born in Knoxville and joined the navy when he was 9 years old. I used to think I was industrious because I started mowing lawns at 9–now I feel like a slacker!
My boys
I got out my camera and attempted to find something interesting in the high-noon sun. I was impressed that on a Saturday in July, we saw only 3 boats go by in a half an hour–definitely not like the Lake of the Ozark’s.
Then, I turned and saw Tisen and Pat waiting on me. Pat was petting Tisen and apparently hit a spot Tisen really wanted scratched–he started backing up so Pat could reach better with the silliest expression on his face. My happy boy . . . I wish he were looking half as happy now.
He was sedated for his allergy test and has been so miserable ever since, I am feeling horribly guilty. On the plus side, he hasn’t been itching since we got back. There’s not really a good explanation for that–he’s been so sick we haven’t given him anything new. The only thing that’s changed is we found out he’s allergic to dust mites (along with about 25 other allergens) so we got rid of his old bed that had a washable cover over an un-washable fill. We got him one that’s completely washable instead.
I don’t know if I’ll every forgive myself if all this time it was his bed making him itch!
A view of the lake, which is really a reservoir on the Tennessee River
nomadicmainstream 
great pics! Tison is so sweet. I hope that he does better now that you know what he is allergic to. Bless his heart. Don’t feel guilty though sweetie. We have no way of knowing these things xx
Thank you! He’s had a tough few days. He was throwing up all day today. Got him in to see our local vet and she gave him some stuff to stop the vomitting. Hoping it will stop soon. Poor boy.
give him a hug for me xx
Live and learn but in the end the only thing you can do is the best you can–no guilt 😀 . The alternative to the meds are what you had to begin with. It is a delicate balance 🙂 . He loves you no matter what and that means he is happy. 😀 I hope all is well. Take care!
It’s so hard when they can’t talk and you’re just guessing at what’s going on. I can’t imagine what it was like to go through this kind of stuff with a baby. Thanks for the kind words–we’re crossing our fingers he’ll start feeling better shortly.