I’m sure most of you have suffered through the puppy phase where they will basically chew on anything that they can get their mouth around. Of course there are the typical favorites like shoes and the legs of kitchen stairs. Our Australian Shepherd, Mittsy wasn’t much different in the early days. This chewing phase lasted about 8 months.

Although the furniture in the house and our shoes seemed to be safe after that initial period, even the use of a standard pet gate to keep mittsy confined while we were away, wasn’t enough to curb her appetite for new taste experiences.

There are many things that are considered dangerous to a dog if ingested. At some point or another, Mittsy has pretty much eaten everything on that list, with only minor indigestion.

We were terrified for her the first time this happened, and it has happened several times since then. On her first Easter weekend with us, she managed to find our children’s cache of left over chocolate Easter eggs. Mittsy devoured as many as she could, wrapper and all.

Oh yes, she would be ill the next day, but she would shake that off in no time and be back on the hunt soon after. I guess the short lived stomach pains were worth the taste treat.

With Easter out of the way Mittsy needed something more along the lines of a regularly available gourmet meal. With a house full of teen-aged girls there was always one tasty treat that Mittsy could always easily get her paws on. Who would have believed that lipstick would become a favorite.

Unfortunately a regular chore around our house was removing red lipstick stains from beige carpets. We went through periods where we remembered to put up the pet gate, but whenever we forgot, the red streaks would be there to remind us.

Mittsy’s crowning  moment was yet to come.

Once a year, friends of ours host a long weekend get together at their summer cottage. Several families are invited and pets are included. Its a favorite weekend for our family and we look forward to it as soon as Spring arrives.

As usual, the weekend was a smashing success with beautiful sunny days, warm water and great company. Unfortunately it came time to start packing up for home. I guess the act of packing was some sort of sign to Mittsy that she had better feed up for the long trip home.

Her first find was the french loaf that we had been saving for that evening’s Italian feast. She managed to eat the whole loaf of bread before anyone caught her. You would think that this would fill her up, but oh no, not Mittsy.

We had been out playing around and in the water, and I was sent to find a frisbee that was in the cottage. Unfortunately I found more than just the frisbee. Out the back window of the cottage, my eye caught some movement. There was Mittsy filling herself on the gourmet treasures in the cottage compost heap.

I managed to chase her away from her compost delight, but within half an hour or so, Mittsy became very ill. Every breath from her mouth was steaming in the air, even though it was a 90 degree day.

It would be four hours before we got back to civilization, and we thought by starting the trek as soon as possible, we could get Mittsy to a vet before nightfall. We finsihed packing the car, said our goodbyes and headed out.

I’m sure you think you can imagine what our trip home was like, but I really doubt that you could. Mittsy was sick several times, and each time the smell was overwhelming. In order to keep ourselves and the children from being sick as well, we would have to stop the car, get out and breathe some fresh air, work up some courage to get back into the car, and head out for the next stretch.

By the time we got home, Mittsy had somehow totally recovered and as soon as we opened the car door, she was off on a run wanting to play in the yard. She was off her normal diet for a couple of days, but no more than that.

We kept an eye on her that night and throughout the next day, but other than a slight loss of appetite she seemed quite normal. She wanted lots of fresh water, and we made sure that her bowl was full. If she could speak, I’m sure that she would brag about having a cast iron stomach. It took the rest of us much longer to recuperate.