4.10.2012

April 10, 2012

White Dog forgot and scrambled to sit higher in my arms. "OWWW!" I yelped. "Be careful!" She twisted around  see my face and I winced again. ""Sorry, forgot." She buried her cold nose against the angry hot skin on my neck, and the pain lessened.

Our Easter Picnic had been delightful and we had found a lovely shaded table to set up as a base. What I hadn't noticed was that the dappled sunlight, across the afternoon, was baking my face and later, my neck. It wasn't until bedtime that I began to hurt and realized I was cooked.

Being very fair skinned, I have learned to wear long sleeves and sunscreen; even to don a billed cap. But Sunday, for some reason I was lulled into a false sense of Spring time protection. Oops!

Upon this discovery and as a reaction to Steve slathering me with After Burn, the White Dog Army took sudden great interest in my condition. Steve said it was because I smelled like roasted meat. I prefer to think the gentle sniffs and cheek kisses were nursing efforts to make me feel better. I had to take off my glasses so that White Dog could smell my eyeballs; I was allowed to put them on again only after she made a note on my chart.

Monday the WDA demanded frequent neck checks and I received sad head shakes and nuzzles after. Apparently, from their perspective, all of this could have been avoided if I had only been born with a healthy double-thick coat of fur. To top it off, I suffered from the symptoms of too much sun: achy head, dehydration, and upset tummy. The White Ones made sure I rested, drank lots of water, and ate sparingly (they "volunteered" to eat most of my lunch sandwich so I would not overtax my system).

Today I am still sore but pretty much back to normal, EXCEPT I have begun to peel. Steve finds great irony that momma with her pups all blowing coat, now is losing her own skin. 

White Dog grabbed a crinkly former piece of my forehead off of the pillow this morning and puzzled over it for several minutes before (don't, please, I begged) putting it into her mouth and eating it. Then all of the others thinking she had been given a special treat demanded THEIR piece. "I am NOT pulling off pieces of my face to feed you...not my neck, either...you are all so GROSS!"  They looked at me like I was being wasteful and walked off to see what else they could find to nosh in the carpet.

17 comments:

Jo's World said...

Big straw hat, long sleeves, shades, as much protection as you can manage from Old Mr. Sun. He is a mean guy to we who are fair of face and that Lucky Old Sun is for someone else, not us!

Careful from now on !

Jo, Stella and Zkhat

Dachshund Nola said...

Yeah my Mom is lobster red from our beach trip! She says curse the irish, whatever that means
Dachshund Nola

Tweedles -- that's me said...

We have not see our friend "the sun"
in a long time. Now I know where he has been hanging out
love
tweedles

bichonpawz said...

I have the same problems with sun exposure...Lupus and sun...not a good combination. I feel for you!! Glad you had a nice Easter!

Remington said...

Oh my! The sun can hurt us if we aren't careful.... Take care, my friend....

Brian's Home Blog said...

Oh yes, those burns ouchy quite a bit!

Random Felines said...

ouchy - mom has done that before and then moans and groans about it.....

Angels Amber and Max DaWeenie and Mom said...

Oh we feel so bad that you are suffering so much with this sunburn. I really wish we could snap our paws and make it all go away......butt (I'm so sorry) we can't stop laughing at the thought of the WDA thinking of your pealing skin as such a wonderful treat!

Kari in Alaska said...

Oh I inherited my red headed fathers skin coloring so I know your pain all too well

Stop on by for a visit
Kari
http://dogisgodinreverse.com

♥♥ The OP Pack ♥♥ said...

Ah yes, the merciless sun, and even in the shade without the dappled light one can still get burned badly. All fair skinned here, even we pups have pink skin:)

Hope you are feeling better soon.

Woos - Phantom, Thunder, Ciara, and Lightning

meowmeowmans said...

Sorry to hear you got such a nasty sunburn, Mom Sue. Hope the peeling part of the healing process is done soon. Hugs (but very gentle ones)!

Little Reufus said...

Tho I am furry sorry yeu have suffered such pain, I wood gladly get in line fur a piece of yeur face.

Just sayin. :o)

wif lubbs from Little Reufus

KB said...

I do the same thing once every year... And then I remember the sunscreen for the rest of the year!

I'm glad that you're feeling better.

Sally Ann and Andy said...

Hi my darling Siku,
Mommy is shriking "eu" now, but I don't know why. When I come out there, will there be some for me. I am coming very soon. I might bring my big sister's stroller(Sylvie). Can she sit with her feet sticking out, or is she more the doggie stroller type? Oh, my Mommy feels your pain. She says in the summer, she is white or red. She can be outside for 10 to 15 minutes in the sun and then start to turn red.
Andy

myparentime said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Bailey Be Good! said...

Awww, sorry you got burned! That must hurt. My mommy and hu-sister get burned too, so they have to wear lots of sun screen. Hope you feel better soon! :)

Woofs & hugs, <3

~Bailey (Yep, I'm a girl!)

Sagira said...

Sun burns are no fun at all. OUCH!