I really don’t believe I’m superstitious. To me, Friday the 13th is just another day; I walk under ladders if it’s a quicker route to my destination; I had a black cat and nothing bad happened; I’ve even broken a mirror but 7 years of bad luck didn’t followed.

You know how they say the minute you mention something hasn’t happened, it happens? Like saying, “I rarely get sick” and the next day you wake up with the flu. In my tennis league, it’s almost a given the second you compliment how well someone is serving, you can bet they’ll double fault their next serve.

Well, maybe there’s something to this superstition stuff after all…

So I went and opened my big mouth a couple weeks ago and told a friend how lucky I’ve been that my 7 animals have had few medical problems. For those who are superstitious, you’d say I just jinxed myself big time.

Anyway, that very night I’m sitting on the sofa when I feel something damp under my leg and notice a large wet spot on the cushion. I figured my greyhound (Nellie) did it while licking her paws, as she tends to saturate the sofa at the same time.

The next night I’m huddled on the sofa with all 3 dogs when I again feel something wet on my thigh. Nellie is sleeping next to me, her butt pressed against my leg. I look down in time to see pee streaming out while she snoozed.

Startled, I yelled, “Nellie, what are you doing?” She woke up completely dumbfounded. I swear, you should have seen her face. She had no idea she was peeing. So I cleaned the sofa and chalked it up to her being in a deep sleep.

But when it happened again the next day, I realized something was up. So I took 10-year-old Nellie to the vet, where tests were run to determine the problem. Turns out my elderly pup has become incontinent due to age, accompanied by a high concentration of protein in her urine. And to think I just bought a new sofa. Oh, joy.

Soon to be old sofa

Anyway, the vet put Nellie on medication to correct her condition and she hasn’t randomly peed since. Instead, the last 2 nights Skip has taken to throwing up. My guess: the poop the dummy eats in the backyard is wreaking havoc on his intestines (and my new rugs). So now I shadow him when he heads into the backyard in search of buried treasure.

Poop eater

In conclusion, I now recognize I may be a hypocrite. I admit it; I guess I’m superstitious after all. For instance, I purposely didn’t mention in the above paragraph that my other dog, Callie, is healthy as an ox, for fear I may jinx her. (I’ll let you know if we end up at the vet tomorrow.) 

Now don’t get me wrong; I’m not going to start carrying a rabbit’s foot (disgusting) nor will I cross my fingers on a wish. But recently I found myself knocking on wood for good luck and I’ve made many a wish upon a star. In fact, I just did it the other night.

But I can’t tell you what I wished for or it won’t come true.