Favorite Work Benefits and Spiders?!?!?

There are two things about my job that I especially love: getting one day off every other week (Flex Day) and that we're allowed to bring dogs to work. Dogs are certainly a distraction, but they also make for a very cheery workplace at times. Who else can say that they've had a meeting interrupted by a dog fart?

Zelda, the owner's huge Bernese Mountain Dog, is awesome. She's very gentle, and has a funny personality. She loves to bang her head against you, so you'll pet her and give her attention. The other day, she stole my water bottle... it was pretty hilarious chasing her around the house, and then getting the water bottle back in exchange for my opening the porch door for her. For some reason, she has especially taken to pushing herself through my legs and maybe even purposefully trying to get me to fall over. Due to her height, I do always nearly fall over, whilst I burst out into giggles along with a minor gasp/shout. It doesn't get old, and no, it doesn't annoy me. It's just too darned funny, and I get to wear jeans to work anyhow.

The same day that Zelda so gloriously interrupted a meeting with a fart, she was also OBSESSIVELY licking one of her paws... for 2 hours straight. It was super annoying, and we were all four of us pleading with her to stop. It was incredibly aggravating. However, this licking turned into something she was doing often, and combined with a week of her seeming a bit off (tired, really red eyes, fever) and then seeing a little spot on her paw, she was taken to the vet. It turns out she was bit by a spider. Poor Zelda! I hope she feels better soon. The vet called with more info today, and she's on antibiotics. Stupid spider.

Spider... What? A spider bite did this... wait a minute? Did you say it's a poisonous spider? As in, poisonous to pets and people? Let me get this straight - POISONOUS SPIDER. What?!?! WHAT?!?! There are poisonous spiders here?!?!!?

And there are. oh my gosh there are. Hobo Spiders... a.k.a. Aggressive House Spiders. HOUSE?!?! You mean this thing can be in my house?!?! And there are reports of maybe there being Brown Recluse Spiders?!? I apologize for the excessive interrobang (new favorite word) usage, but I just got finished looking at what these bites can look like on a human being. OMG.

I'm generally not freaked out by bugs, spiders, worms, etc. but we're talking poisonous spiders here. I just need a bit of time to accept that they're around and biting our pets! and us! (Watch out Sheitoon!) It's going to take some effort to keep to my one true irrational fear... bees. (Never been stung myself, but watched my sister have severe allergic reactions enough times to scare the crap out of me.) For now, spiders are on the list too.

I wonder how this will affect my general attitude towards spiders in the house... pretend I don't see them, so they can go eat bugs and do their vital part for the planet. I've only seen one spider in our house here so far - phew! Hopefully, it'll have been my last. But for now, indoors or outdoors, I'm pretty sure that every time I see a spider, I'm going to pray that it's not a hobo, recluse, or any other social outcast.