Rough Day – ND #36

Cheese Hound – Photo: L. Weikel

Rough Day

Some little boy had a rough day today. But there was still enough fire left in his belly to be bad!

The afternoon started out innocently enough, with Pacha and Brutus scheduled for their second Lyme vaccination just after lunch. So we headed up to the vet’s office and managed to get there uneventfully. In fact, they seem to relish car rides.

They both clocked in with weight gains that have been impressive with every single visit to the vet. This time Brutus was just shy of 16 lbs. (15. 9 to be exact), with Pacha weighing in at 14.8. That’s pretty significant, if you ask me.

Anyway, the shots were administered seamlessly.

Special Delivery

After our visit to the good doctor, we needed to make a special delivery. I only mention this because part of the route we took to make that delivery was on a road that bears significant twists and turns. We weren’t gone for long, but on the way home, Brutus reminded me of one of the more consistent yet unpleasant differences between cats and dogs, which is that dogs do not give ‘fair warning’ of impending nausea.

Well! Following our special delivery, Brutus decided to make one of his own. Without my knowledge (keeping my eyes on the road and such), I did not realize that he had barfed up the contents of his stomach. Honestly, if I didn’t know better, I would say he’d stuffed his morning feast in a ziplok bag and unloaded it on us. That’s how intact it all was when it appeared before me a second time.

I know this may be ‘tmi’ for some of you, but it was rather impressive that he managed to fill the cup holder in my vehicle with the breakfast he’d eaten three hours earlier. Given the quantity this growing puppy had ingested, he also managed to barf up another massive amount which he artfully aimed between the console and my seat.

The whole thing was executed masterfully (if unintentionally).

The few that escaped being pilfered – Photo: L. Weikel

The Aftermath

I brought both of the pups inside when we got home and retrieved a roll of paper towels. We interrupted Karl making himself a mid-afternoon snack of cheese on wasabi rice crackers with a dollop of mustard for garnish. Nevertheless, he set them aside and came out to the car to witness the carnage, returning to the house immediately, while I tended to the remediation.

When I completed my task as clean-up crew, I walked into the living room to find the very same puppy with the very same expression on his face as in the photograph at the top of this post. Talk about a puppy who knows he broke the rules! Guilt and regret seem to be written all over his face.

I looked at the plate on the tray table in front of said beleaguered puppy. A handful of crackers with cheese remained on the plate. Karl, growling more for Brutus’s sake than mine, simply said, “I guess he had a void to fill.”

“How many cheese crackers had you made for yourself?” I asked.

“A plate full.”

“Oooh. Wow.” And looking Brutus in the eye, I asked, “Did you do this?”

Yes. Yes he had. And he hasn’t been fully on his game ever since. (And I’m trying not to relive the trauma of Spartacus suddenly not feeling well.)

Ah, adolescence. But still…I do have to admire his aim. Filling the cup holder was gross but masterful.

(T+36)