$250 Candybar

Magoo has been known to dig through the trash for a chicken bone or scrap of meat. We've returned home to find pizza crusts laying in the hall. Once, he even covered the kitchen floor in trash trying to dig out some meaty scrap (see photo). But, he has never touched any candy or snack food left on the livingroom table... before today.

When Stephen and I left the house for lunch, there were two giganto, Easter-sized candy bars sitting on the living room table - one dark chocolate and one milk chocolate. Now, if Magoo was feeling the need to go on a chocolate binge, it would have been in his best interest to opt for the milk chocolate. (Chocolate is poisonous to dogs, and the "darker" the chocolate the more toxic it is.) Magoo is a smart dog and understands many words like "treat," "wanna go?" and "squirell," but "chocolate is bad for dogs" was probably beyond his comprehension. Fortunately, somewhere along the way, this knowledge had been engrained in my head and I knew to take him to the vet immediately.

At the vet's office, I was informed that the amount of chocolate that Magoo ate was lethal. One technician took him into the procedure room while another explained what they would need to do - basically, induce a whole lot of vomitting and then coat his stomach with active charcoal to absorb any remaining toxins. I sat in the waiting room and tried to remain calm, which is not an easy thing to do after hearing the words "lethal amount." A few minutes later, the vetrinarian came out to introduce herself and tell me that Magoo had puked up piles of chocolate. This was very good news. I later found out that the bad news was that he puked all over one of the vet techs.

When I was finally able to see Magoo, he was all hopped up on morphine and looked quite pathetic. He laid in my lap whimpering while the vet explained the medicine and special food I would need to give him for the next few days. We were nearly ready to leave when Magoo suddenly jumped from my lap and barfed all over the floor. You know that embarrased feeling you get when your kid is picking his nose in public? Well, this was worse. Magoo had already puked on the vet tech and now he left a pile at her feet.

After a short rest period to make sure he wouldn't puke in the car, we were finally allowed to go home. Unfotunately, there was one last stop to make on the way out. When I got to the receptionist's desk I learned that my $2 candy bar just cost me another $248. That was definately the most expensive candy bar of my life.

And the lesson in this story - when you buy a chocolate bar, eat the whole thing right away. Saving part of it for later may nearly kill your dog.