Happy Dogs Ticked Off

Happy dog? Well, at least I think she's smiling. Yes, Zoey finally is starting to find her groove here in Goteborg. Sounds are less frightening. People are less intimidating. And she's been to the big park. What more could a dog want?

Slottsskogsparken is about a 15 minute walk from the apartment. It is a big park. There are three separate dog areas. Two weeks ago, we brought the dogs for the first time. And found one of the hund rastplats which, when translated, should mean dog exercise area. We think. We hope. No one, except us, was playing with their dog...at all. Let alone off the lead. Lily didn't seem to think it was a big deal.

We've been back a few times. It's convenient. And it wears them both out nicely. But, this past weekend, we opted for a walk in the woods. The destination was Vänersborg. A quaint town on the Southwestern shores of Lake Vänern, the largest lake in Sweden. On the way there, we spotted a small lake with a path circumnavigating it. Off we went through the woods. Around the lake. And back to the car. Then I spotted something. Right next to Lily's nostril. A tick. Crawling. Now, had I been thinking rationally, I would have taken a picture of what unfolded next. And you would have a visual cue. But, I was not thinking rationally. I mean, these were ticks. Ticks!

Lily was laid out on a towel and examined head to toe. Her light-colored fur was a nice contrast to the small dark ticks. Not sure how many we pulled off. But they were roaming around and heading down into the fur. Zoey came up empty in the tick lottery. Though, inexplicably, at home nearly 6 hours later, I saw (and removed) a tick crawling on her leg. For the next couple of days, I will run my hands across both dog's coat. A sign of affection. And paranoia.

And, yes, TJ and I checked ourselves for ticks. Nothing. But, for the rest of the day, any strange sensation on my skin conjured up thoughts of a methodical tick inching his way toward a jackpot of my blood. As unsettling as that was, headed back into the woods on Sunday. Ticks be damned!