I got allergic to my dog
Yes, I did. Now I cannot pet him without my nose running and my eyes getting dry. But let’s see how it all started.
The back story
Back in time, I was a studying electrical & computer engineering in the beautiful city of Chania in Crete. My roommate and I had a great relationship and an even better communication. So after many discussions (not) and much consideration (neither) we decided to get a dog. And so we did! You can see how beautiful he is. His name is Shelby by the way (not the car).
We went for walks, we played, we socialised and we visited the beach quite often. Life was good.
The double breakup
When you are having fun, time moves quickly. We knew we could not be students forever, no matter how much we wanted it.
Graduation soon came and I left Crete. My bonding with Shelby was so strong that I decided that I would take him with me. No objections by my roommate were raised. He also knew our relationship was stronger. We said “Until we meet again” with my roommate and Shelby and I hopped on the ship and arrived to Athens.
In Greece, men have army obligations. This means that when you get 18 they send a letter at your house saying that you need to serve and they also tell you when and where you need to present yourself. Of course, you can postpone it for some reasons, one of which is studying. But once you are done, you will spend 9 months of your life across many military camps, where you will serve your duty.
My parents live in a small village in Peloponnese. A house with a yard in the front and in the back also. So it would be great for Shelby if they could watch over him while I would be gone. And so we did. Shelby and I travelled to my home town and my parents were more than happy to watch him over. They even bought him a new bed! But most of the time, he was laying in the yard, in the grass.
Breakup prolonged
Time passed and so did the 9 months I had to serve. I was 25 years old and I had to make use of my studies. I had to get a job. Landing one was hard (but more on that topic later on), but I finally managed to get my first job as a software engineer.
I was ultra happy, but there were downsides. My job was in Athens and in the beginning I was working long hours. Unfortunately, there was no time for me to play with Shelby or take him out for a walk. Besides that, I visited my parents often and I understood that he was having a good time there. He was free in the nature, while if he was with me he would be trapped inside four walls for a major portion of the day.
The best thing was to let my parents keep him. They loved him and he loved them. It was the best for all parties involved. Now I had one more reason to visit my parents.
The suspicions
Sometime in the winter I decided I should visit my parents. Some of my childhood friends would be there too.
When Shelby was not in our lives, parents would be the ones to welcome me home every time I arrived. But now, when Shelby sees me coming, he runs to the front door and waits for me to open it, so he can jump on me and push me with him paws to let me know he wants to play like we used to.
After throwing the ball one million times and fighting like men and dogs do, it was time to stop. I did some catch-up with my parents, I drunk some coffee and I ate some spinach pie. I left the house and I went to my friends house where we would meet.
But something was not right. While my soul was excited and happy, my body was not. My nose was running. Actually one nostril was running and the other was completely blocked. My eyes were itchy and kind of red. I explained my friend what was wrong and he said something that sounded like shuttering a million mirrors in my head.
“Dude, you are allergic to your dog”
Investigation
My friend got me thinking. I was never allergic to anything. But there was a point to what he said. I could not bare having the slightest suspicion. I had to test his theory.
I rushed home, Shelby in the front door, his tail moving so quickly that a hurricane was possible. No “fetch” this time. I rolled him on the grass and tried to catch his tail and he was trying to “bite” my hand so I let him go. Sometimes he would escape my grip, run a big circle in the garden and come back to me looking at me like saying
“Is this all you got?”
But for my purpose, yes this was enough. I scratched my nose and waited. Fifteen minutes later the same symptoms occurred. Dry eyes, blocked nostril. I sneezed for 5 times in a row. My friend was right. I got allergic to my dog.
Acceptance
That night I spent thinking about what happened. I was never allergic to anything. How could I be allergic to my own dog? He was with me all that time in Crete and nothing similar ever happened.
I knew that this was happening, right here, right now and that changing it would not be a proper solution. So I decided to go with it. Now, every time I play with Shelby I wash my hands and face before doing anything else. I get so annoyed when my allergy hits me that I never forget it.
Accepting it was the right thing to do.
The dreadful realisation
Easter passed by and I was already thinking where I would spend my summer vacation. So opened the Greek map, closed my eyes and picked a spot on the map, hoping it would be an island. And it was. Corfu.
I went to Corfu and it was beautiful. I visited friends and I also visited friends of my friends. I explored the beaches and anything that Corfu offered to me. After Corfu, I though about going to Crete and refresh my memories about the places I used to go and the people I met.
Time flew by again and vacation was over. My routine was waiting there for me. I had to go there and I knew it. But first, I decided to visit my parents. Shelby was there, we played, we hugged and we had a good time. Being to relaxed made me forgot about my allergy, but my dry eyes made sure that I remembered.
Suddenly, it hit me.
During my holidays, I petted a million dogs. Dogs my friends had, dogs relatives had, even stray dogs. I never washed my hands afterwards. My allergy was not triggered.
I got allergic ONLY to my dog.
Acceptance vol.2
Accepting it this time was easier. I was already used to wash my hands after coming in contact with Shelby.
What was torturing my mind was why. Why was I allergic only to my dog? Why other dogs, of even the same fur type, do not trigger my allergy? Even if it make me thinking, it was not important enough to make me go through tests to find out exactly to what was I allergic.
Finally, I accepted it again. Still no matter the allergies I get, they will not be enough to keep me away from my best friend.
