If by hustlin’ you mean cleaning up bodily fluids…
(I’m sorry. I know that doesn’t make sense. It’s the best I can do with the day I’ve had. Thoughtful post meant for today has been moved to Thursday.)
So, sometimes UPS boxes arrive, and from the return label I assess it’s something either for the blog or my writing clients, but I don’t have time in that moment to deal with it, so I stack it on the corner of my desk. As of last night, there were three such boxes on the corner of my desk.
Before bed last night, I took Molly for a walk (she’s back with us… more on that later in the week, too) and came back, putzed around with her for a few, practiced her sits and downs, then put her in her crate. I walked upstairs and found…
Cooper had gotten into one of the boxes. He pulled out the contents. Bottles of canine supplements and joint care. He had shredded and devoured the entire contents of one entire complete health bottle. The closest after-hours vet is over an hour away, so I split-second made the (I know, not always favorable) decision to induce vomiting. But we were out of hydrogen peroxide, so I jumped in the car to go to the drug store and called John – who is, of course, out of town – who found this on the company’s website:
Q: If the pet eats too many/whole bottle will they be ok? Is there a danger of overdose?
A: Your pet will be fine. Our products are natural (containing no synthetic ingredients) and water soluble, so there is no threat of over supplementing. This prevents overdose, since your dog or cat will digest the proper amount of each ingredient that is needed for their body weight (the equivalent of 1-2 wafers) and the rest will simply pass through their system. If they did eat to much, they may experience some diarrhea (especially if they have ingested the majority of a bottle), and it is advisable to provide them with some extra water and put them outside for the day. Please note that they will not experience negative side effects either short or long term from eating the entire bottle of wafers.
So I drove home, took some deep breaths, had a big glass of wine, and we called it a night. Until 4:30 am.
Long story short, between then and this moment, he has peed, pooped, and vomited all over the house and yard (but, sadly, most in the house due to the ice storm situation). I’ve gone through an entire bottle of cleaning solution. He has eaten one piece of whole wheat bread slathered in pumpkin and is now sound asleep.
I still haven’t recovered a normal heart rate yet, and every time he twitches I jump up to determine if I can rush him outside… or if I need to go get the bucket again. Since he’s out of town and missing all the action, for his part John has promised to rent a carpet cleaner this weekend and do the rugs.
Sigh.
How’s your day going?? Please say better than mine!
Thank goodness he is okay, just with an upset tummy. Our “famous” counter surfer once knocked down a bottle of Advil with a few in it and somebody helped themselves. Long story short, my husband panics and I’m not home yet. After a phone call to emergency center gives all four dogs hydrogen peroxide since he doesn’t know who ate what–so we then had mass vomiting. Thank goodness we have big dogs and it turned out okay. The two guilty parties had no damage after getting checked out by our vet the next morning, my husband was sure he killed them. Lesson learned, all Advil and other drugs are always put far out of reach.
Mass vomiting. Shudder. Glad it turned out alright, but yeesh. Poor things – and poor YOU!
Whew! That is NOT fun. Glad he is OK! So far, our dogs have thankfully impressed us with the iron-clad nature of their stomachs… but I always worry, and I know I would be in full freak-out mode if I’d discovered what you did! Tomorrow is another day. 🙂
Thanks for the reassuring words, Abby! Lucas and Emmett are my iron-clad guys. Cooper… well, if he even gets a tiny piece of boiled chicken he gets sick. Worse one to make this “error.”
OH NO. I can so sympathize with you. You poor thing. I’m terrified that someday Delilah will eat something that will kill her. 🙁 Well at least he’s getting it out.
I had a pipe burst last night which ran out the garage and made the driveway a sheet of ice, does that make you feel any better? 🙂
That is my exact fear… with Emmett! This is a first of sorts for Cooper. Ah, well. I’m SO sorry about your pipe. No fun. I hope it wasn’t the one for your shower/toilet?!
My day is going definitely better, but we have all had those days if we have had a dog in it. This too shall pass and some day it will be as funny for you as it is for the rest of us.
You’re so right! I love that we can all “look back and laugh” after a while. Now, until I get there… 😉
Last January after having to clear out the cabinet under the kitchen sink because of a leak, Hershey taught me a lesson in cleaning up quickly.
I’d left its contents on the floor while the cabinet dried out and even after it was dry. I went to bed, thinking I’d cleaning up in the morning (Ha!)
About 11:30 at night I was woken up to a strange “clunk, clunk, clunk” sound. Going out into the kitchen I found that Hershey had found a ‘treat.’ One of the items left on the floor was a can full of old fat and cooking grease; at least it HAD been full. By the time the sound of her licking it woke me up she had eaten it down the bottom of the can!
A night of repeatingly letting her out into the yard, and a day of vet visits and worrying about pancreatitis the dog with the cast iron stomach was fine. But I was a wreck!
Later I found a regurgitated, recongealed glob of her late night snack in the backyard. It was about as attractive as you might imagine. So now any used grease goes in a can in the freezer and then out into the trash!
Oh, my gosh. How scary. And gross. Isn’t it amazing how hard we try to be vigilant, but these little stinkers always find away around our hard work and diligence?!
Wow. So sorry. That stinks. Don’t be mad, but I laughed a little at this post.
Ha! I’m not mad. In fact, I don’t blame you! I’ll be laughing in a few days…
Oh dear. Our little dog goes outside and eats possum poop at night and has the runs the next day. Nothing like what you experienced though. (You would think we would stop letting him out…duh)
I feel awful for you, but glad Cooper is ok. Just one of life’s reminders that stuff will get slung at us and it’s just how we deal with it. You have a great attitude though I’m sure you are exhausted. Also, I meant to comment yesterday. Really glad YOU got the all clear at the MD. Yay! Get some rest and hopefully Cooper will be all better tomorrow.
Thank you so much, Diane! All seems well today, thank goodness! And the company so kindly sent an email to check on him today, which I really appreciated. I think by tomorrow he’ll be back to his usual obnoxious self, clobbering his brothers and barking out the window! 🙂
Oh no, poor silly Cooper. So glad he’s “okay” from his little experiment but oh my gosh, you must be exhausted! Why, why, why are they never easy? :/
(I still need to see a picture of your foster Molly. Have I just missed it somewhere?)
Hope you can get some rest today to make up for your crazy night.
I ask them WHY all the time! Haven’t gotten a satisfactory answer yet… 🙂
As for Molly, I’m going to put together a post with some pics and her “adoptable” flyer pretty soon. She’s had a nasty eye situation, so I wanted that to clear up a bit so that she looked presentable. In the meantime, you can check out this one that I Instagramed from the vet’s office: http://instagram.com/p/jRoGYWLieq/. I promise to get better ones because I really do see some resemblances to Bella (although please tell me if you think I’m crazy!!)
Thanks for the link – Molly DOES look quite a bit like Bella. I think it’s the dots over the eyes. 🙂
Poor puppy! I hate when my dogs get sick because there’s not much you can do. One of them was puking the other day for some unknown reason, and of course she pukes right on the rug when the hardwood floor is one foot away. How fun!
I hope Cooper has recovered by now!
I wish I could remember the source (I’m going to flip through some resources to see if I can find it again) but it basically said that dogs have very evolved stomachs that cause them to puke more than other animals… and sometimes it’s regurgitating, which is different from vomiting. Whatever it is, it’s gross! 🙂 Hope your little one is better!!
The sleepless night due to bodily activity. Ahh, yes I know it well. Give Cooper a hug and a give yourself a nap!
He says thanks for the hug… he needed it!!
Well Ray woke up this morning sometime before five, decided to not wake us up and took a large, loose dump in the hallway. On the tile. He’s considerate like that.
Ooh, no. Is he doing ok?? Score one for hitting tile, though!!
Oh, that is just the WORST. Poor Cooper…but mainly, poor you. I’m pretty sure every dog owner on the planet can empathize.
On another note, the company may want to do a little “CYA” re-writing on their website. This part just kills me: “Please note that they will not experience negative side effects either short or long term from eating the entire bottle of wafers.” Er, pretty sure that even “some diarrhea” is a negative side effect. Just sayin’.
I know! They also have some too/to confusion. Sigh. 🙂
Oh, no! Poor guy!
Silas doesn’t eat. I mean, it’s 12:30 and his breakfast is still in the dish. He has food rules like “this is too flat” or “I am not touching that with my nose.” So OF COURSE he will eat every scrap, crumb, and random object he can find in or out of the house. We’ve never had a major problem, but I can see how it would happen. Which hardly seems fair, given the portion of my life that I spend worrying about him not eating.
Wow. That is actually unheard of in this house… even from the cat! I put down bowls for all 4 at once, and everyone is completely finished within 2 minutes. I’m going to film the whole process soon. Honestly, if anyone doesn’t finish, it’s a red flag and we call the vet immediately!
As for the random object thing… it’s SO frustrating because I feel like I’m diligent, vigilant, etc., but they ALWAYS catch me the second I slip up. Sigh.
Also, random, but can Silas have liver?
Aww… poor baby. I’m sure he didn’t learn his lesson and will do it again. Our dogs always do.
This post has confirmed that caring for a dog is very similar to caring for a kid! Some people get outraged at the comparison, but since getting my pup I’ve determined that it’s simply true in more instances than not. Thankfully I haven’t dealt with diarrhea or vomit yet.
That’s certainly not a joke. How is he now?
He must get a proper training so that this doesn’t repeat with him.