Super Puggle

Yesterday we had a bit of a health scare with Alstott...Damon even left work early last night to take him to the animal hospital.  Alstott had not been himself at all, and the biggest indicator that something was wrong was his lack of appetite.  He didn't even flinch when Damon cooked him a chicken breast; I don't think I've ever seen Alstott shy away from food.

Alstott has been my loyal companion for nine years, so I was a nervous wreck while they were at the veterinarian; I cannot bear the thought of losing my little puggle.  All of the major tests at the animal hospital came back negative, but he was still not behaving like the obnoxious dog we have grown to love.  We speculated that Alsott had some sort of obstruction, an all too common occurrence for a dog who eats everything (socks, crayons, undergarments, etc...).  I can only imagine the things that our landscapers have found thanks to Alstott's "deposits" in the backyard.

Sure enough, after I arrived at work this morning, Damon called to happily inform me that Alstott was back to his normal self.  He passed a mass of DumDums, stolen from my sister's carry-on bag, that had fused together in his stomach to form a rock-solid clump.  One he had ridded his system of the candy, he appetite resumed immediately.  Whew...what a relief!

Terri and I had realized that Alstott had raided her backpack, impressively eating only the DumDum itself and leaving the sticks behind, but I never envisioned that they wouldn't break down if swallowed whole.  The bag of DumDums in our pantry was immediately moved to a higher shelf - - we cannot take another chance with Alstott's seemingly invincible digestive system.

Alstott's definitely one of a kind!
(Sporting a bandanna from the vet)