I come from some interesting stock. It seems like everyone in my family is allergic to something. My mother has it worst, with a slew of food, pollen, dander and mould allergies that make you wonder how she gets by and feeds herself. I was built in largely the same fashion, I'm discovering.

I've long known that I have allergies to certain tree pollens, grass and various foods (seafood, coconuts, almonds). Largely, they've caused some awkward dinner situations (try having dinner at a polynesian or traditional asian household with my food allergies) and miserable, sneezey springtime months, but that's about it. Things were annoying, but manageable.

Probably about 5+ years ago, I started noticing ill effects when I was around dogs. My family has kept dogs as pets for most of my life, and I generally liked to think of myself as good with dogs. They liked me when they'd dislike most other strangers. Even my siblings had broods of yellow labs. The family seemed pretty dog-centric. Then I started having difficulties when visiting my brothers' homes, especially when the dogs were around. My throat would get scratchy. My eyes would water and my head would ache.

At first, I figured I was playing with the dogs too much, so I'd just pet them a little bit. When that really wasn't helping much, I decided that I shouldn't be petting them, but they could lick my hands if they wanted. Then it became a case of "let them lick, but wash your hands before you touch your face." It escalated to no licks, no petting, no sitting in chairs with dog hair on it. And then I found I could barely spend 30 minutes at my brothers' places if they had their dogs there, after which my allergic reactions would get to the point I'd have to go home early.

I never felt like my life was in danger, but imagine a headcold mixed with strep. Plus a migrane. And a wagging tail. It was hard, but dogs were out of the picture for me.

If you can believe it, when I moved to Seattle, unbeknownst to me, I moved into an apartment complex that was pretty much a dogpark. And I had a courtyard level unit right where everyone would bring their large dogs to play and piddle. Dog hair would be matted in my screen door and float around just outside the doors. Going home after work has become a question of "Be hot inside the apartment" or "open the sliding door and have a headache and allergy issues." My wonderful girlfriend and I are in the process of getting out of that place, but apparently a dog allergy isn't enough to get you out of a lease without big fees.

That's kind of the sad reality of allergies, I guess—you're never really safe. That and apartment complexes are a losing proposition...