Would you kiss this face?

I would. I do. So do Omid, Naseem, Matty and countless others. Remy has this effect on people. They just want to kiss him. Well, imagine my surprise and disbelief when I received a new Oprah magazine in the mail (I cancelled my subscription weeks ago, but that's a blog entry for another time).

On page 127 there is an article titled, "The Hazards of Puppy Love." The author (Catherine Guthrie) writes: Dogs have bacteria around their mouths you don't want on your face. Every year more than 200,000 Americans get stomach flu after ingesting a common bacterium found on the tail ends of dogs - and cats -called campylobacter. Another easily transmitted bacterium is salmonella, which causes diarrhea and fever in humans. The bugs get around thanks to the typical canine meet-and-greet sniffing, and an innocent kiss can pass it on to you. Dogs lick themselves all over, so these germs can be on the dog's nose when it's nuzzling you.

Humans probably get more illnesses from other people than from dogs. Look how many people don't wash their hands after using the restroom (disgusting), wiping their noses, picking their noses, touching cold sores, etc. and then go on to touch door handles, money, atm machines, computer keyboards and so on. Plus, cats stand around in their litter boxes and then jump on kitchen counters. How gross is that?

We don't let Remy 'fraternize' with just any dog, so I am pretty confident Remy's nose is flu bug & salmonella free. We will continue to kiss our baby.