Like a Dog with a Cone

G. and I are subjecting our Yellow Lab, Aimee, to the worst humiliation a dog can suffer--the cone.

Aimee has a food allergy, the vet said. She has red rashes all over her belly that she scratches and two bald spots (perfectly symmetrical) on either side of her back where she has bitten. Therefore, the cone.

The latest cones are clear and seal with a velcro strip. But that doesn't improve the cone experience enough for poor Aimee.

Aimee's equilibrium has always been off and the cone makes her balance worse. Misjudging distance, she walks into doorways and furniture with her cone. She needs help jumping on the couch.

Earlier I posted that Aimee weighs 57 pounds. Correction: she weighed in last week at 86 pounds. G. says he and the vet were holding her on the scale and they probably got a misread. Aimee doesn't look any fatter to me.

(Artwork courtesy of Gene Cawley)