Dang! – Huh
Original article by S. Veigel – 08/31/2020
Forget the dog ate the pillow. 5 curious anecdotes about things dogs ate.
If you’re a parent or grandparent with dogs the odds are you’ve cleaned up some rainbow colored diapers and something similar when you were cleaning up after your dogs in the yard. They just seem to have a common nature at first. “Everything in the mouth”. And they seem to love crayons.
Here are some thoughts. Five anecdotes people shared with me over the years. Things a dog ate that could have been serious but turned out well. Weird stuff that makes you think about home safety? Maybe. But certainly brief accounts that make you first say, “Dang!” followed by an LOL laced, “Huh”.
Anecdote 1
Long time ago a coworker turned to me and said, “I had to take my dog to the Vet for a blockage in her stomach.” “I’m sorry,” I responded. “No. The dogs fine, but let me tell you what happened,” he interjected.
“So the vet called me to pick up my dog,” he continued. “When I got there he handed me a zip lock bag full of coins. ‘What’s this for?’ I asked. He smiled at me and then laughed, ‘That’s what was in your dog’s stomach.’”
Dang! – LOL – Huh
Anecdote 2
I was in the kitchen when I heard young August, our beagle fiercely barking. I rushed in and didn’t know what to do at first. She was anxiously wanting to attack something between the couch and the book case but was keeping her distance. My first thought was that something got into the house but I didn’t see anything. Still she was going to kill whatever it was. Something in the wall where she wanted to attack? Maybe behind the couch I decided. I prepared myself and then shoved the couch aside but there was nothing there. Auggie was still growling and barking at the wall.
After watching Auggie’s behavior with utter confusion for a moment or two I finally focused on the wall she wanted to attack. And there it was. Apparently that little pup didn’t realize that when she bit the lamp cord it was going to bite back.
Dang! – LOL – Huh
Anecdote 3
I was at the Vet with one of my dogs and when the Vet left the room for moment the Vet Tech and I somehow started talking about weird things dogs eat. “I know” responded the Vet Tech. “My dog had to have a blockage removed because he ate a leash.” “A leash?!” I inquired. “Yah, the whole leash,” she continued. “Fortunately he bit the clip off. But I think it must’ve been like eating spaghetti.”
Dang! – Huh
Anecdote 4
My daughter called me up with an “I can’t believe it” tone in her voice. “I came home and found a fire log half eaten. Can you believe it?! Ziggy ate half a fire log!” she told me. “He’s fine. But that’s just crazy.”
Dang! – Huh
Anecdote 5
When we first took in Charlie he was a Counter Surfer Extraordinaire. The other 3 dogs were smaller so I think they looked to him to knock something down they might be interested in. I kept hounding the family about leaving things near the edge of the counters and the table but people, being creatures of habit, didn’t really appreciate my alarmist attitude.
Once we started trusting Charlie for short periods when we went to the store I would first diligently look around and push back a plate, a knife, a dish towel or anything else carelessly placed. But this day we were well up the road when my wife realized she forgot her mobile phone. “I must’ve left it on the table,” she remarked. I started to make a point about not blaming Charlie for everyone’s carelessness, but I quickly realized that was not a welcome conversation.
When we returned I just stood in the dining room waiting for my wife to enter the house. In that moment I was just marveling at that glazed look in the eyes of Casey (another beagle – not Charlie) as she delightfully enjoyed the crunchy sound of that nice chewy mobile phone. She really, really seemed to think that was the best chew toy she ever had. I almost didn’t want to take it away from her.