Sunday, December 30, 2007

The Patient

Well the tables have turned. This time I was the patient. It all started as a harmless, friendly encounter. The little boy across the street thought it would be nice to share his granola bar with me. His parents would be so proud of his sharing skills. I thought to myself yum, yum a “free lunch.” But, as they say, there is no such thing as a free lunch and I was about to learn my lesson. Apparently the granola bar had something in it that made my mother panic – raisins. After my mom called poison control, they told her to make me vomit immediately. My mom gave me some milk to drink (little did I know it was mixed with hydrogen peroxide to induce vomiting) and I thought how nice, a tasty drink to wash down my granola bar. Soon my free lunch turned into a lost lunch. Yuck!

Apparently raisins are very toxic to dogs so I was rushed to the animal emergency room. It can be frightening to the patient, but I was lucky to have such compassionate doctors and nurses taking care of me. My course of treatment was IV fluids for 24 hours and boy did I miss being home. Too bad they don’t have pet therapy dogs working at the animal ER as I could have used a little sunshine. When my family came to pick me up I was so excited to see them that I wagged my tail so hard it almost fell off. While I hope I never see this place again, I gave all the staff members at the hospital a kiss good-bye (even the lady who pricked me with that IV needle). You’ll see in the picture the band-aid where the IV was placed. They had to shave my legs which now just looks like a poodle hair cut gone bad. Oh well – I’ll choose health over beauty any day!

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Happy Holidays !

Happy holidays! I hope that everyone had a barkin’ good time with their families and friends! My Dad put together this blog for me and my Mom has agreed to be my personal transcriber. This is going to be a howl! I am a little tired from the holidays – you’ll see from the picture that I filled in for Rudolph this year and pulled Santa’s sleigh! This week I am on vacation and my pet therapy work resumes on January 2nd so stay tuned! I am looking forward to telling you about all the fascinating people I encounter. So, enjoy the rest of 2007 and be ready to sit, stay and read my blog in 2008! Woof ! Woof!


Sunday, December 2, 2007

A Warm Welcome from Bella!

Bella is very excited to start telling you all her stories as a therapy dog. This blog was created for Bella and her owner as a Christmas gift. Bella makes visits to various hospitals, nursing homes, retirement communities, and schools twice a week. After a whole year Bella has lots of adventures to tell and pictures to share. But, she needs help because her paws are not good for typing. So, place a bookmark and visit again after the Holiday Season. And please place your vote for how often you would like to hear from her.