It's All Fun And Games Until...

As the saying goes, "It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt."

It's been HOT this week. Like 90+ degrees and super humid. It's so hot that we've put off hikes and walks to find other activities to keep us busy while staying cool.

I filled up Charlie's baby pool in the backyard and we played with the hose:

And we shared some watermelon:

But Charlie's all-time-favorite game is FETCH! I think Charlie was a soccer goalie in a previous life because she LIVES to block the ball. When she was younger, I used to kick her tennis balls around the yard because they would get too slobbery to touch. One day I kicked the ball and it hit her right in the eye. I was so worried that I'd done permanent damage that we ended up taking a trip to the vet to make sure she would still be able to see. Fortunately she was fine and it just took a couple of days for her to stop winking at me out of that eye.

On another occasion, I kicked the ball down the narrow side yard next to the house and as she turned to run after the ball, she whacked her head into the foundation of the house. I'm pretty sure she gave herself a concussion because I had to carry her into the house and keep an eye on her throughout the night to make sure she didn't die. Another vet visit and everything was fine. Whew.

I don't play with tennis ball in the yard anymore - they've been deemed too dangerous. Instead, I found some squishy bouncy balls that are perfectly harmless if they accidentally hit Charlie. And surprisingly, their soft spikes prevent them from getting too slobbery.

So I decided to play some kick-ball with her squishy ball in the backyard... and guess who got hurt this time. Me.

Charlie was so anxious and determined to catch the ball, she dove for it just as I was kicking it and she accidentally bit my toe instead of the ball. I could tell immediately that she realized she'd bit me when she quickly sat down and looked concerned, no longer interested in the ball. I hopped around trying not to yell because I didn't want to scare her, but MAN did that hurt!

You can totally see two teeth marks on the bruise. Yikes. So much for yard games... we're both looking forward to the cooler weather next week so we can get back to hiking!

What do you have planned for your fur-kid this long holiday weekend?