(Shhh…don’t tell Toby, but Santa is bringing him gifts even though he has been naughty.)
cartoon
Puppy With a Death Wish: Part 1, The Case of the Psychedelic Pup
Toby has proven to be a real Puppy With a Death Wish. The lightning-fast little guy managed to grab a mushroom while we were out in the yard, and all I saw was the end of the stem as he gobbled it up.
Fortunately his body started purging the mushroom right away. His poor little body emptied itself all over the place. The vet wasn’t particularly helpful in this instance. Her only advice was to take him to the emergency vet hospital. Yes, going there would be good, but it is a 45 minute drive away. I learned from a neighbor and from the internet that inducing vomiting with peroxide would be something to do within the first minutes before heading to the hospital.
I was lucky, and my little puppy survived the ordeal. Did he learn his lesson about mushrooms, though? Not that I can tell. He still pulls to get near every one he sees.
This cluster of three was found on the nearby church’s property, so I call the grouping The Holy Family of Mushrooms. The “Joseph” mushroom has a cap that is 9-10″ across. It is HUGE!
Here is “Joseph” seen from the top.
This mushroom had such a lovely color in real life. Between the shade of brown and its size, it reminded me of a loaf of bread on a stalk. Check out the leaves on the plant beside it to try to get an idea of just how massive it is.
First Week Memories
These memories are for when I look back and try to recall what Toby did at which stages of development.
During his first week….
I had to add water to Toby’s kibble because he was too little to eat the chunks when they were dry.
Toby didn’t know how to shake. First he would shake the back end, then the front end. He didn’t know how to shake them together to properly fluff his fur.
At first, Toby was too tiny to make the first step out of the front door, so I would carry him. One time, I was carrying him inside my coat for the five steps from the front door to the snow when he just conked out. I couldn’t bring myself to wake him, so I just stood there with the puppy tucked in my coat. Toby was too tiny to see, and as people drove past, they gave me the strangest looks. (“Look at the odd woman standing in the yard looking at her coat!”)
Geordie wasn’t a happy camper because he had to wait inside.
The Christmas Tree
I had forgotten about having to do this until I went to visit my friend. I thought she had been interrupted while she was decorating her tree because it only looked half-decorated. Then her two dogs got into a playful wrestling match, and I realized why the decorations only went from the middle up. “Don’t decorate below the Dog Line!” (We had a similar phrase in my family that said not to eat the grapes that grew below the Dog Line.)
Geordie always liked taking a nap under the tree. I wasn’t sure if he were waiting for Santa or if he were participating in the nativity. Perhaps a little of both!
Dog Days of Summer – A Poem by Geordie the Dog
Be careful when you close that
big white fridge door.
I’m lying quite near
on the cool kitchen floor.
I don’t want you dropping
stuff on my poor head.
I’m really alive
though I look like I’m dead.
I’m missing the ice and the snow
and the slush
of Winter as you scoot me around by my tush.
I think that this Summer,
I’ve paid my “heat dues”
Now how ’bout we go on an
Alaskan cruise!!!
The Adventures of Bitey Dog 