The Doctor is In

You can just go ahead and start calling me Doctor, as in Ph.D-worthy.  I have ground-breaking evidence that dogs also need a healthy dose of sunshine to be all that they can be.

You may have inferred from my last post that I am not enthralled with the weather in Edinburgh. Congrats, you have an IQ of at least 20.  With that being said, it has come to my attention that perhaps one of my dear Bingo Boyz is also afflicted with the wintertime blues.  I have realised that I actually have years of reliable and overwhelmingly convincing data to prove my thesis that dogs also suffer from SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder).  Please follow along my photo research project as we see the transgression of poor Mugsy from a happy, well-adjusted (in most aspects) pooch to one who just wants to sleep the day away and dream of summertime's past.

Following is the ground-breaking data:

We must start at The Beginning.  We lived at the beach on the coast of sunny, humid and warm South Carolina.  The was the start of the Mugger's days on Earth and he enjoyed his time here immensely.  He was a very young pup, but early pictures show how he is drawn to the light, much like a newborn piglet.

We moved from SC to the blistering hot desert of Las Vegas, NV.  This is where research has shown Mugsy to thrive.  The house was one level and had a sliding glass door out to the back yard, which consisted of artificial grass surrounded by a rock garden and a 6ft tall cinder block 'fence'.  As I worked from my home, I would wake up and immediately open the slider about 6 inches so the dogs could enjoy the 'cooler' part of the day when the backyard was still shady.  It became clear that the Mugger waited until about 10am, when the sun started to shine in the backyard, to make his way out for hours on end. It would easily be 90F by this time. These are a few photos capturing his Heaven on Earth:

He liked the sun so much, he liked to jump in the pool, take a swim, cool off and then catch some rays.

He was also so invigorated, he became a tad mischievous.  While I was inside hard at work, he dragged all of these items out to his little desert play land...apparently he did not want to come back inside. Ever. He's the bad boy out in the grass.  His brother came out with me to assess the damage.

Sunny and hot Las Vegas was left behind for Richmond, VA for 10 months prior to leaving for the dark depths of Edinburgh.  Again, the proof is in the pudding. Didn't matter if he was inside or out. See for yourself:

I thought I would take the Bingo Boyz to the beach in Hilton Head one last time before we sailed off to Europe.  We stayed a month, and of course Mugsy loved every second of his sun-soaked vacation:

But, then....it was time to go.  We sailed over on the Queen Mary 2 from NY to Southampton, England.  Mugsy loved his time on deck when the sun was out:

Then, we docked in dreary Southampton and I became concerned for our well-being. But, have no fear, Edinburgh was absolutely lovely in August!  Check out the puppy basking in the sun:

I advised both of them to take advantage of all the sunshine they could get, because before too long, it would be gone.

And unbelievably, they listened....

Then, winter came and it was dark. Thankfully, dogs are resilient and adapt to their surroundings.  So, when given something that vaguely represents the sun, guess who takes advantage of it?  From a floor heater:

To my computer desk lamp:

Suffice it to say, winter is in full force and the does not come out often. And, when it does, unfortunately it does not enter into the flat where Mugger can soak it up.  So, sadly, this is what he's become:

I don't even have many pictures of him from this winter, because they are all the same....his eyes closed and sound asleep.  I think I have found the solution for the poor little guy, but you will just have to tune in next time for it.

Till then, 

Over-N-Out