Achoo!

The other day Reacher started sneezing. The day after, the sneezing lessened, but he had

a cough. Then that cleared up, but the sniffles began. 

Hmmmm .... Can dogs get colds?

Since it was the weekend when his symptoms began, the vet's office was closed and I was hoping to avoid the dreaded and expensive trip to the animal emergency hospital, I turned to the next most reliable source for help: the Internet.

I just Googled "do dogs get colds" and voila, I got 118,000,000 hits! All sources seemed to agree. Yes, dogs do get colds. And the symptoms for a dog are pretty much the same as for a human -- sneezing, coughing, runny nose and possibly runny eyes.

Reacher's eyes are fine. And he hasn't been lethargic or refused food or water. Quite the contrary. He is eating, drinking and playing as usual. In fact, he is is sticking to his exercise regime of doing his daily laps around the house. And he's started a new hole in the yard that's getting larger and larger by the day.

Being the responsible dog owner that I am, I did call Reacher's vet on Monday. She said unless his symptoms continue beyond a week or worsen there's no need to bring him in. So hopefully, the cold will disappear as quickly as it began.

In the meantime we'll both have to put up with his runny nose. I try to wipe it since Reacher's not good with a Kleenex. But like most young boys, he prefers to take care of it himself. In his case though, he uses his tongue.