Black Dog Sunday

It's Black Dog Sunday. It's been a week of hot sun and then afternoon monsoons. One great consequence is that the Mariposa Lilies have bloomed wildly.

The lilies and all of the other flowers have made our meadows into a riot of colors. R and I have loved our time together there.

Another effect of the hot but rainy weather is that wild mushrooms are popping up everywhere on the forest floor. You may be wondering - How are wild mushrooms relevant to our Black Dog? Long time readers might remember.

Our Black Dog developed the bad habit of eating mushrooms years ago. He usually eats only one kind of mushroom - one that is safe. Many wild animals in our forest eat R's favorite variety. However, a few years ago, R made an almost fatal mistake by eating a different kind of mushroom, a poisonous one. He had severe neurological symptoms from his mistake, including seizures. We rushed him to the best local emergency vet. Then, they put him in an ambulance and transported him to Colorado State Vet School. Amazingly, he survived.

Thanks to all of the efforts of multiple vets, he is alive and running through wildflowers now.

Now, we are at the time of year when we must protect him from his love of mushrooms. To run over to the meadow with me, he must wear a muzzle to stop him from eating mushrooms. He hates the muzzle but loves playing in the meadow. That's a reasonable trade-off from R's viewpoint, I think.

We are being very careful this year. At almost 12 years old, we are not sure that his body could survive mushroom poisoning. So, we protect him from himself.

Happy Black Dog Sunday! We love our boy!