bentley

Most of you know, Addie had an extremely brutal summer with her skin. There was lots and lots of itching, which led to cracks and open soars. She was in pain and I was in constant fear of infection. As her mom, I was willing to do anything to take her pain away and keep her safe and comfortable. This is my job. And I was failing. After trying numerous lotions, medications, baths, etc, I pushed to have her tested for skin allergies.

Sadly, the results showed that she is sensitive to dogs (level 3) and cats (level 2). After talking with our pediatrician and the allergist, we decided it was best to try a year with Bentley living with my Aunt Pam. I'm tremendously grateful to her for taking him in. Without her willingness to take Bentley, we would have probably had to say goodbye to him permanently.

There is hope though...Bentley is a non-allergenic dog and rarely sheds. Addie has lived her whole life with him and as much as I would like to have an answer, this may not be it. We will reevaluate next fall. As for Six our cat, Kevin and I felt that he is just too old (12 years old) to be transplanted. Addie is less allergic to cats than dogs and if she doesn't have a better summer, we will have another bridge to cross come next fall.

For now, I know Bentley is enjoying his time in a kid-free, dog-friendly home. He is cared for with as much enthusiasm as we once had, before two very important little human-beings came into our lives and rearranged our priorities. That makes my heart happy for him! Thank you Aunt Pam.

Baby Bentley
Christmas of 2007