It’s a Dog-Eat-Gourmet World

Friday, April 8, 2011

Page 11

AT THE SIDEBAR (Column)

It’s a Dog-Eat-Gourmet World

By J’AMY PACHECO

When I convinced my husband the Christmas before last that our daughter needed a dog, I had no idea what I was in for.

We were moving to a new community, taking our daughter away from friends she’d attended school with since kindergarten, and she was taking it hard. She’d always wanted a dog, and I felt the move was the best time to make that dream come true.

I failed to take into consideration the fact that we had to perform extensive renovations to the new house. Believe me, potty training a puppy in a house with brand-new carpeting was no easy task. The puppy chewed up new furniture, made potty or spit up on virtually every surface she could, and scratched whatever she couldn’t bite. Those early months were a LOT of work.

I didn’t want to have one of “those” dogs that begs when its humans sit down to dinner, so I forbade everyone who entered our home to give the dog human food. We bought vet-recommended holistic doggy food, and she seemed to thrive.

It therefore came as quite a surprise when she developed a tummy problem that resulted in the need to feed her prescription canned food. When she was better, we were able to return to pet store food, but switched to a combination of dry food mixed with canned food formulated for dogs with sensitive stomachs.

“Sensitive” is not a word I’d normally use to describe our dog. “Crazy” and “hyperactive” immediately come to mind, but sensitive? Nah. But just as you can’t judge a book by its cover, you can’t judge a dog’s innards by how much they like to run and jump.

The dog weighs only 14 pounds, but she can jump like she has pogo sticks in her legs. One of these days, I’m going to make a little pink tutu for her so she’ll look normal hopping around on two legs. She loves to run, and at least once a day will take off on a crazed race in circles around our staircase, pausing only to leap over things or pick up a toy.

If “active” was a dog breed, our pooch would be its poster pup.

Her innards are another story. I’ll spare you the gruesome details, but last week, we ended up back in the vet’s office for doggy surgery. Despite the holistic dog food and careful monitoring of her diet, our pooch developed stones that could only come out through an incision.

After the surgery, the vet advised me to keep the dog calm and still for 10 days. Knowing our dog as I do, I inquired about doggy Valium. There was none forthcoming. Instead, it was suggested that we confine the dog to one room to keep her from running or jumping on furniture.

The morning after the surgery, the dog was understandably groggy and whiny. By afternoon, however, she was positively miserable about being confined to the kitchen.

So we expanded her zone to include the family room, but erected a barricade to keep her from jumping up on the couch and moved her bed into the family room. I left for a few minutes, and returned to find her behind the barricade, on the couch. I have no idea how she got over the barricade, but she appeared to be quite pleased with her accomplishment. I was just happy her stitches were intact.

The subsequent days have been a challenge, to say the least. Not even a four-inch incision on her tummy can keep the dog down. We’re struggling to find a balance between giving her an outlet for her energy and keeping her stitched up.

In the middle of all this, the vet advised us that an analysis of the stones indicated they were the type that has a 40- to 50-percent chance of recurring. That means this crazy dog now has to be put on a special diet of prescription food, and given only filtered water.

I can’t help wondering how a dog that has the personality of a Tasmanian Devil and has been known to eat her own poop can have the constitution of a princess. Filtered water? Prescription dog food? Yeesh…I’m starting to think I should have just let everybody give her table scraps from the beginning. How much worse could it have been?

So now, in these penny-pinching days of economic uncertainty, while many people are economizing by eating spaghetti and peanut butter, our dog is living large on “special” food for doggies with delicate constitutions.

At the rate she’s going, she’s going to have to get a job to support her lifestyle.

I wonder how much demand there is for tutu-wearing dogs that can jump and run?