Striking resemblance, no?

Tomorrow I have to find my way to the animal hospital so my dog, Dusty, can pay the vet a visit. I wish I could say the visit is simply a checkup, but it's not. My dog is a medical mystery. Funny. She seems to take after me in that respect. She has far too many allergies for her own good and has been prescribed everything from steroids to a lamb & rice ONLY diet and fish oil supplements (YUCK!). Of course, nothing works. On top of that, she has a chronic odor that refuses to go away. No amount of bathing or spraying can get her smelling the way an upstanding, regularly-bathed dog should smell. She's impossible.

This week, she has a fluid-filled lump on her neck, which sent me into a state of grossed-out panic. Thus, the veterinarian.

This has really got me thinking though. I'm sure you've heard that people pick dogs who look like them and act like them. Now, I'm not excessively hairy and I definitely don't have the massive underbite that she does (nor the striking odor), but I truly am a medical mystery. Who would have ever thought I could find a dog who has as many allergies as I do? Apparently, it is possible.. though completely unintentional on my part.

Tomorrow at the appointment, I expect her ailments to be met with confused, yet seemingly confident faces. Eventually, we'll be sent away with a medication that will not make her allergy-related issues go away. I swear to you my dog does not readily respond to medical treatment. Poor Dusty. I'll feel some sympathy and empathize. Then, I'll probably spend an unnecessary large sum of money on her before we go home to make her feel better. If retail therapy works on me, shouldn't it work for her? After all, we are alike in at least one respect. And everyone knows that shopping has the power to heal.