The dog is sick.
She got into the garbage on Sunday night, and feasted on sparerib bones. The vet suspects she’s developed pancreatitis from eating fatty meat, but I think it’s the shards of bones rolling around in her tummy.
In either case, it’s not good. She’s been having trouble keeping food down and just isn’t herself. And though I’m sure it’s just a matter of time until she recovers, this could have been avoided if someone had emptied the garbage.
What a concept. Such a simple thing, yet no one ever wants to do it.
The Curmudgeon calls me “The Blamer” because I’m usually looking to assign it when something goes amuck. But in this case, someone screwed up and no one is willing to own up. All I know is I’m off the hook because I cooked, and the cook doesn’t clean in our house.
The Curmudgeon pointed out that it was Father’s Day so it surely wasn’t his fault. My son and daughter cleared the table and plates, but someone left the cabinet holding the trash can slightly ajar, allowing Cali to open it and have a field day.
I love pull-out cabinets that conceal trash cans because they’re dog-proof. But in order for them to work, the cabinet must be closed. Even an inch gap is enough for a Lab with a hankering for bones to work it open with her nose. But this is really a moot point. The trash should have been taken out.
The Curmudgeon is willing to concede that he was the last one to go to sleep around 1 a.m., and the dog was sleeping on the living room couch, odd because she’s ordinarily commandeers a chair in our bedroom. That should have put most people on alert that she was up to something, but the Curmudgeon went to bed.
I awakened around 5 a.m. and found the trash can had been ransacked. She got the wrappers the ribs came in, as well as the foil I used to wrap them. She ate paper towels and some bones, because I found small shards on the living room carpet.
I’m not sure how many bones, but we ate a lot of spareribs that night. X-rays showed she has no obstructions, but apparently objects can roll around in a dog’s stomach for months. I’m praying she’s not one of these dogs because that would mean surgery.
The vet told me about a dog who had eaten chicken on wooden skewers, including the skewers. When the vet operated a few months later, there they were – wooden skewers too thin to show up on X-rays. I don’t know why vets tell you these worst case scenarios, but they do. It’s not really what you want to hear when your dog isn’t feel well.
Anyone with Labs knows they’re land sharks, prowling the kitchen and its environs for food. My old Lab Lindsey was legendary: she once at 4 corned beefs right before a St. Patrick’s Day party while I at was at an emergency clinic with The Curmudgeon. When the babysitter called to tell me about the corned beef, even the doctor said, “I’m sorry, but you really are having a shi*^ty day.”
Cali is becoming a bit of a chow hound in her old age, and now she’s paying a steep price. The vet recommended keeping her overnight, but I insisted she come home because she’s an anxious dog. In reality, I couldn’t stand the thought of having her away from me.
I’m not really sure where I’d be without this dog. She’s such a loyal companion, sticking by me through thick and thin over the past 9 years. She helped me through a particularly difficult period a few years ago, and our bond got even stronger.
The Curmudgeon claims she’s obsessed with me, and I won’t argue with that. She wants to be with me all the time. Sometimes it feels a little oppressive, but I love it. It’s nice to be so deeply loved.
Though he won’t own up to leaving the trash compartment ajar, I suspect the Curmudgeon knows he’s guilty. He claims the dog won’t look at or cuddle with him, that she is in some way mad at him for her current predicament. Maybe she is, and maybe she has every right to be.
My son the philosopher said it’s no one’s fault that the dog got sick, that it’s the dog’s fault for going into the trash. I swear this kid has been doing this since he was little, refusing to accept blame for anything. Perhaps this explains our relationship: the Blamer having a child who is Blameless.
But right now I really don’t care who screwed up. I just want sweet Cali to feel better again.
I have been there, although my Lab had never gotten sick, she was a trash dog, a counter cruiser, you name it. If it resembled food, was next to food or even smelled remotely like food it was fair game. My daughter’s rescue dog loves the trash and has gotten acute gastritis from her many forays into it. I hope your will bounce back.
LikeLike
Thanks Park. She seems to be doing much better today.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thinking of you and hope she feels better soon.
LikeLike
Thanks LA. She seems to be doing much better. Maybe it’s the blog effect.
LikeLiked by 1 person
😀❤️
LikeLike
Poor Cali. I’m sure you’ll stay on top of it and hope she feels better soon. Keep us posted!
LikeLike
Thanks SIG. She seems to be doing much better today.
LikeLike
I like your son’s reply: the philosopher, very intelligent. I hope she will be ok. I know I am very close to my pug.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Cupcake. When the dog is sick, it sort of throws everything off.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m so sorry about Cali! I hope she is much better very, very soon. My dog had pancreatitis once and she did recover, but it took four days at the vet and some IV fluids. If the problem is the bones she ate, I hope that is resolved as well. It is so hard when a loved one is sick, and it doesn’t matter a bit if that loved one is human or canine.
LikeLike
Thank you Ann. She seems pretty much back to normal. And now we’ll all have to be a lot more careful with her.
LikeLike
I see in the comments that she seems to be on the mend, I hope that she continues to recover. I didn’t know this breed was known for being a land shark.
LikeLike
Oh yes, one of the worst. And yes, she seems to be almost back to her old self. Last night she was sniffing around the chicken bones.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Good to hear, but I guess its back to being vigilent about your leftovers and trash.
LikeLike
Thank you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
How is cali? I hope she is well. Great post. I love reading about her. Unfortunately these circumstances suck. Shes adorable.
LikeLike
Thanks for asking Chrissy. She is well, almost through her course of antibiotics.
LikeLiked by 1 person
😊❤
LikeLike