Bad Doggie Mommy!

I know a lot of times I act like I have it all pulled together, all under control. Some days I do, and some days I don't!

Last week I had one of those not so under control days. We had a really full morning of rushing around - Paprika had swim lesson, then preschool. Ginger and I stayed with her at preschool for about an hour and a half (we usually stay as long as Ginger will cooperate and not tear apart the classroom).



Ginger and I came home for a short lunch break (we had to be back to school in an hour to pick up Paprika). Ginger had already eaten, so I set aside some Duplo blocks in the living room for her to play with, and I sat down to enjoy my lunch in peace and quiet.

Daisy came over and laid down at my feet. She started whimpering softly, and I told her to stop...but I could tell that within a few seconds she was going to start barking. And I knew that once she started barking, Ginger would leave her blocks, come into the kitchen, and then I would be running interference between puppy and toddler. No more peace for me!

So, in order to keep Miss Daisy quiet, I started feeding her my lunch (which is something I never do...seriously)! And what I was having for lunch was a big bowl of grapes. I fed her grape after grape after grape.

Then, about eight minutes into me feeding her grapes and watching her (quite adorably) play with them and gobble them up, I decided to Google "feeding dogs grapes."

Well, what I saw shocked and horrified me, and set the tone for the rest of our crazy afternoon.



You see, grapes are toxic...poisonous, in fact, to dogs. Just a few grapes can kill a dog, not to mention a tiny little puppy like Daisy. At her small frame, all the websites I checked said that about 7 grapes could be lethal to her.

So, of course, I went into panic mode. I started Googling "what to do if your dog eats grapes," and all the websites said to induce vomitting. So, of course, I tried to gag Daisy...but that didn't work!

I read that the fastest way to make a dog throw up is to give the dog hydrogen peroxide. So, I tore apart the house looking for that. Didn't find it. Of course, now Ginger was done with blocks and needed me...so I was taking care of her and tearing the house apart at the same time!

Then, I ran as fast as I could down our street to see if anyone was home and had hydrogen peroxide on hand. Nobody home!

So, I quickly weighed Daisy to see exactly how many pounds she was (12.5 lbs), grabbed a medicine syringe, and threw Daisy and Ginger into the car, and we raced off to Target. We ran inside, grabbed the hydrogen peroxide, and of course there was a really really long line at checkout. So, I went up to the front of the line and basically shouted, "Here is a dollar. I have to go feed my dog hydrogen peroxide so she doesn't die." I am sure that made a whole lot of sense to everyone in the store. Haha!

So, then I took Ginger and Daisy back to the car, measured out the hydrogen peroxide to get the proper dose for her weight, and proceeded to shove a syringe full of hydrogen peroxide down Daisy's throat. And then we waited in the Target parking lot for her to throw up...which she did (in the car...thankfully I had some swim towels with me).

By then, it was time to get Paprika at school...so we drove over there, all the while waiting for Daisy to throw up again. Which she did...but thankfully we were parked in the school parking lot by then. And thankfully, I still had Paprika's swim towels in the car.

Then, I picked up Paprika, and we all headed home. Daisy was still throwing up, so I took her in the bathroom for easier clean-up . Then, when I was sure her stomach was empty, I took all the vomit I had saved in the towels, and brought it up to the kitchen sink to go through it. Yup, I went through all the doggie vomit to make sure that we got all the grapes. I think even if I weren't 5 1/2 months pregnant, that would not be a fun task...but being that I am pregnant, it was just gross beyond words!

I called the vet and told them what happened and they said that if I was sure that I got all the grapes (which I was because I counted them!), then we could just observe her and if she started acting funny, to come in first thing in the morning.

So, of course, all night I was watching Daisy's every move and twinge, wondering if this or that breath would be her last. Trying to see if she was sick or just taking a nap.



After lots of water and some doggie food to fill her tummy back up, she was fine. This was last Wednesday, and she's not acted weird at all since the incident.

But oh my gosh, did I ever learn a lesson! Never feed your dog grapes or raisins! Ever! I always knew about chocolate, but not about grapes...and it turns out there is a whole list of things you are not supposed to feed dogs (like onions, who knew!) So, from now on, Miss Daisy Doodlebug will only be eating her dog food and dog treats...which is probably how it should have been from the beginning anyway! I am learning, but oh...the mommy doggie guilt was strong last week and I am just now starting to forgive myself...sorta.