Friday, July 15, 2011

Petey's Pills

Petey has been taking a daily dose of medicine for his doggie arthritis ever since his last vet appointment. Much to our suprise, he'll take the pill right out of our hands and gulp it down.

That is until this week. On Monday, he wouldn't take it. He hadn't eaten much during the day. That is not all that unusual. He gets mad and pouts by not eating. We no longer try to figure out why or how to make Petey feel better. We will sometimes try to coax him in to eating if the pout goes on for too long, but most of the time we figure when he gets hungry he'll eat, pout or no pout.

It was still a bit of a surprise that he would not take the pill when I (Lori) tried to give it to him. Since he was in a stubborn mood, I thought maybe taking the pill should be his idea. I left the pill next to him, thinking he'd eat it once I'd walked away. I checked back later. He was gone, but the pill remained. Again, I tried to give him the pill and again he refused. It was important that he take the pill, since he needs to keep a constant level of medication in his system to keep the pain away.

He wasn't eating so coating the pill in peanut butter or some other delicacy wasn't an option. Periodically throughout the evening, I'd hand Petey his pill and he'd refuse it. So, John decided to save the day by giving Petey the pill. He put the pill in the palm of his hand and coaxed Petey over to it. Petey, bowing to the pressure, came over, got the pill in his mouth, and walked away.

John stood up, victorious and ready to celebrate. Petey had just turned his back to John with the pill in his mouth. But before the celebration could begin, Petey spit the pill out and continued walking away! I, of course, began to laugh but it was now a contest of wills!

Petey really thought he'd pulled a fast one on John, but unfortunately for him, he had not. John picked up the pill and Petey. He gave Petey the pill once again. John wouldn't let him down until he swallowed. Petey, realizing he'd been outmatched, swallowed.

Petey has since resumed eating and taking his pills. Go figure.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

A Boy and His Dog