I never had a dog growing up, and when our girls were small, I knew I had to give them the one
I never had. Period. I made it my mission in life to convince my Big Strong Man that not only was a dog good for them, they needed one. Sure, he'd had a dog (and even two or three) growing up. He'd had that joy. That relationship that a kid has with his pet. I hadn't. I was gypped, you see.
Enter Casey, our little white fluffball of a Bichon Frise. Funny how short people have big dogs and tall people have little dogs. What's up with that? I know that's a sweeping generalization, but I sure know a lot of instances where that applies. Anyway, here we are, a very tall family with our tiny little 8 1/2 pound (small for her breed, even) dog. She's 6 1/2 years old now, and she's been a joy for our family in so many ways. Never mind that she barks at imaginary things in the yard and is certain that she will catch rabbits. Well, actually, she has caught her share of critters over the years:
- Rabbits
- Baby rabbits
- Birds
- Opossum
- Mice
- Chipmunks
And, are you ready for this one?
- A bat
Yep, a bat.
So, she's quite the little natural critter hunter. She's got a good nose. So, last night, when we got home from our anniversary dinner and found her rooting through Girl 2's tote bag, we should have known right off that she'd been up to no good. Should have immediately suspected that she'd already eaten stuff she shouldn't have. It wasn't until a little while later that we found the gum.
A previously unopened package of Cinnamint Orbit. Now gnawed through the tops of three plus pieces. My girls usually open the package and take individual pieces out. Just something about the way they were taught, I suppose. I don't know. And they tend to unwrap each piece before chewing them. Something about the flavor, I think. Perhaps they're fussy that way. Maybe the texture? I guess you could say they're purists. So, we suspected Casey.
I suddenly remembered the frightening email that I'd received some time ago and subsequently checked out on Snopes.com about dogs and Xylitol. Not a good combo. Reportedly, two pieces of gum with Xylitol can kill a 20 pound dog. Aw, geez. So, off we went to the Emergency Vet. When we arrived, there were all these other people there in tears, and here's Casey, wanting to run up and lick everyone. She's so friendly.
They take her back to an exam room and report that her temp is 105.2 degrees. This does not sound good. They tell me that Casey is presenting far differently from most dogs who have eaten gum with Xylitol. Most dogs would be falling asleep, possiblly even seizing. Casey is acting extremely hyper. The vet tells me they may need to keep her overnight for observation. Keep her hooked up to an IV, etc. I know Big Strong Man (who is fond of saying, "You know how Casey is your first dog ever? She's going to be your last...") will have a coronary at this. I ask for an estimate of what this would cost and ask what the risk would be if we did not do it. The vet says he'll work that up.
I also ask the vet what he would do if he were in my shoes. He says it's frustrating since she's not presenting typically, that it's not an easy call, and that if she goes home with me that we'd need to wake her every few hours to make sure she's OK. The cost to stay overnight is...are you ready? $547. Gulp. I tell the vet I need to call BSM. Really, I'm already telling myself that we can monitor her at home.
The vet and I decide to induce vomiting to see what this "produces". They find the gum, some brown stuff (chocolate -- hey, Girl 2 is a teenager with a very sweet tooth...) and --yep. You may have already guessed it. A Dum Dum wrapper. And the vet tech says the vomit smells like cinnamon. Well, duh...I said it was Cinnamint Orbit.
She is fine. Her nickname will now and forever more be Dum Dum.
Balanced Babe
