Our Beloved Pets

[Fancy Pantaloons]

Aw, they're all so sweet! Aren't we lucky to have such adoring pets?

[Weaver Gal]

Yes we are...and we need to take care of them.

I am posting a warning based on my horrifying experience with Daisy yesterday. It concerns those "Dental Chew Dog Treats" that you can buy for your dogs. Mine came from Costco but it applies to all: WATCH YOUR DOG WHILE HE/SHE CHEWS!

I gave half of one (they are large) to each of our dogs Sunday night to calm them down a little and keep them busy for a while. We had just got home from Jersey Lilly and they were way too excited to see us. Three (the boys) settled down for a nice, slow chew and Daisy, our 10 year old girl, chomped down and promptly swallowed THE WHOLE THING!

Well, she tried valiantly to bring it up once she realized it was not going down, but by Monday morning she was unable to eat without vomiting so I took her to our vet. Two x-rays later I left her there for the day so they could hydrate her and treat her until a radiologist could review the films as they could not see the treat in her tummy. That afternoon, I took her to the hospital where, under anaesthesia, the internist used an endoscope to remove the "treat" from 10" down in her esophagus where it was firmly lodged, a process that took over 4 hours.

The package indicated that the treats were "highly digestible" but what happened when the treat got stuck was that it broke down into what looked like sticky mashed potatoes and formed a very effective plug in her piping that was extremely difficult to remove (in many, many little bits). Without the procedure, she would have probably starved to death without treatment, as no food could pass.

Disaster averted, Daisy is resting comfortably at the hospital where I will pick her up this morning. She has minor damage to the esophagus but they feel she will be ok after a few days of soft, bland food and some meds. I won't even discuss the cost of this little adventure, it was almost as horrific as the experience!

The treat was made of potato and rice flours and is a hard, white product. I believe many such treats are made of similar ingredients.

So WATCH YOUR DOGS when they have those hard chew treats, especially if they are startled or the type of dog that gulps food. I would hate for anyone else to have to go through this.

[Fancy Pantaloons]

Oh poor Daisy! I'm so glad you SAW her do it or you might never have known her source of discomfort, and it might have been too late by the time you did! I'm SO glad she's okay. We have had similar issues, though no where NEAR that serious, with the Nylabones. We have very "vigorous" chewers and they love them, but I don't give them to them when we are gone, as they have been known to chew off large chunks when they get them softened up, and choke. They can also cause GI tract blockages. As Weaver Gal said, BE CAUTIOUS!

[Ima Darlin']

Kris, everyone thinks that my Ally is a pup but she's not: she's 7 yrs old!

[Calamity Kris]

Originally Posted by Fancy Pantaloons

Oh poor Daisy! I'm so glad you SAW her do it or you might never have known her source of discomfort, and it might have been too late by the time you did! I'm SO glad she's okay.

Same here!!

Thanks so much for the warning. Our two love those things.

[Allie Mo]

OMG! Weaver Gal, I'm so glad to hear that everything turned out okay. I adore you and your doggies!

[Ida Hands]

WOW! I was thinking about giving my dog a bone. Now I won't!

Glad your baby is OK!

[Sweetwater Jack]

Originally Posted by Alpine Lil

Sweetwater Jack....I know we had to meet when Will and I shot with you folks at the Battle of the Rogue this past spring. Do you have a pic of yourself shooting that you could share with us all so that I can say, "Hey....I know him!" ???

I need a face to put with the name! I'm gettin' old ya know!

P.S. Loved your "tail" as well! I have a friend that had a boy kitty named Cass for a long time until one day her vet told her it was a girl. Name instantly changed to Cassandra and they called her Cass for short! Also...I've had three cats in my life and they were all named Sydney. The first two were males and the one I own now (oops...I'm staff, can't own her!!!) is a female.

Never mind....I found ya! Second from the right in this pic, right?

Attachment 56581

Heck, I found an even better one....with your lovely wife Gaye Abandon!

Attachment 56582

"Heck, I know him! He's the TG for goodness sake! I shot with him!!"

Yep, ya caught me! That upper pic is our "Old West Reenactment" group. Call ourselves "The State of Jefferson Vigilance Committee". Lots of fun holdin' up banks, robbin' excursion trains, and generally shootin' up towns in southern Oregon and northern California (The State of Jefferson). (Correction! It wasn't shot there... most of the folks in the picture ARE in the SJVC so it threw me... Now where the heck WAS it taken??? Old age and good memory - like oil and water) The other, with Gaye Abandon was on the Gettysburg Battlefield trip with Ellsworth T. Kincaid (Kincaid's Irregulars) awhile back. Hope you'll be joining us for the Merlin "Battle of Rogue River - 2010". I'm still workin' on the "cannon thing"...
Now that "Just Bill" has one he made for JSR's "Wild, Wild West" match.......hmmmmm.

Hey, Wimpy! Didn't know you'd become a "staff member" also. "Tater" is cute as a lil' bug!

Sweetwater and "Louie"

[Alpine Lil]

Weaver Gal....how scary!!!! I'm sure glad Daisy is through that process and finally well. 10 inches down...omg!

I thought you'd enjoy this pic of Sydney:

The caption for this one...."How's a mother supposed to get her sewing done with this little sweetheart stealing a cat nap in her sewing chair?"

[Weaver Gal]

Lil, Sydney looks pretty happy in your chair. Maybe you need to get him one of his own!!

Daisy is fine now, back to her normal, queenly self. She and the others enjoyed their trip to Texas. Robert made a new little thingy for them to sit on/in in the motor home and Charlie and Archie loved it! Archie laid in the bottom part and Charlie took the "high road" and sat on top in the hammock. I will try to download the photos I took with my phone, but here are a couple of the double decker dog seat....