Missing Rope and Accidental Ear Piercing

I tell you … it’s never a dull moment around here. Lilly, our amazing canine heroine, ate an entire knot of rope off a toy and got an unexpected ear piercing from Ginko after getting a bit too close to his activity feeder. Here are those harrowing tales.

Poop Watch Thanksgiving Edition

So, you’ll recall that I’ve switched both dogs from bowls to activity feeders (food delivery toys) for their two meals each day?

That means those toys need to be thoroughly washed even more often. I learned by accident that the Tug-A-Jug turns into QUITE the terrarium if you screw the bottom back on before the rope dries.

So, in my infinite wisdom, I left the bottom off and set the jug (with rope in place) outside on the hot tub to dry in the sun and wind. Even though I scrubbed that rope like mad, including using the new bottle brushes I bought, it must have still smelled VERY much like food … because Lilly ate the inside knot right off.

I had heard the toy clunk down off the hot tub, but I assumed the wind caught it. So, it’s a good thing I went looking for it pretty quick … or Lilly might have eaten the entire rope.

While researching this WebMD piece on what might constitute a dangerous dog toy, I learned that stringy foreign bodies often pose the most danger.

I wasn’t pleased. To say the least.

BUT, Lilly hadn’t eaten all that much, and I had high hopes that she had nibbled it away in small pieces, rather than chewing off long strands.

So, I waited and watched, only allowing her to potty in the dog pen so that I could keep an eye out. Indeed, the long strands passed without incident.

One big veterinary bill avoided.

Accidental Ear Piercing

Last week,  during my time “off” Ginko got a little testy with Lilly when she approached his activity feeder. It was empty. Both dogs had just gone out to potty after breakfast, and I was in the process of picking up their used food delivery toys.

I guess Ginko felt a little crabby or something because he:

• Snarked
• Pinned Lilly to the floor
• Air snapped several times, accidentally connecting once and poking a hole in Lilly’s ear

I didn’t know that at first, of course, but while I was feeling her all over to check for any boo-boos, I came up with two very bloody hands.

If you’ve never been through this (we have, alas), ear cuts bleed like crazy!

So, we put pressure on it, until the bleeding stopped. BUT, it still hurt, so Lilly kept shaking her head, which would renew the bleeding … not to mention make creative blood splatters All. Over. The. House. (If any CSI types ever show up here, we’re in trouble.)

Tom thought wrapping her head so that she could NOT flap her ears might work, so we tried this. It seemed to work for a while. Ultimately, however, it just made her flap more.

So, we went with a multi-part solution:

1. Pressure to slow the bleeding
2. Peroxide to clean the hole
3. Corn starch to (we hoped) help the hole clot
4. New skin to seal it off
5. Crate time to limit house-wide blood splatter

And, it worked. Granted, Lilly’s ear is still completely crusted with New Skin that I’ll have to get off at some point.

I’m being MUCH more careful about picking up the toys as soon as each one finishes or while they are outside so that there isn’t a combined mad dash for either jug.

Entertain Me, Won’t You?

If you’re feeling funny, why not post a comment with your best caption to the pissed-off Lilly photo above. I could use a laugh.