Havens aren't just for humans

I had a very sick dog for the last 10 days. Very sick for only 24 hours, actually, but requiring much attention for the rest of it. As a husky mix, she doesn't get sick often, but is prone to skin infections. And now that she is almost 13, she isn't handling them as well. This one, well, it was pretty horrific. So I spent most of the last 10 days with her - in the back yard since she refused to come in the house. This is her haven, too, so it seemed to be a small price to pay.

However, it was a good haven time for me, too. I know the rhythms of the back yard in a way that I never did before. I know when the birds are loudest, how the sun moves throughout the day, when and where the flies are likely to be around (I was protecting a dog with skin infection so that mattered), and how to manage a stubborn dog who is used to running her own show. I read a fair number of good books. My face got quite tan. And I found some good husky skin management stuff at my favorite locally owned pet store.

Although it has been a somewhat exhausting time - requiring far more attentiveness for a much longer period of time than I am used to - it was also a period of enforced vacation from most of my other responsibilities. And, in her typical fashion, my crazy dog will be 100% healthy before I get on the road later this week. It was not at all the way I planned to spend the last 10 days. But if you think I might be singing an extremely over used Rolling Stones song, you would be right.