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File this one in the cabinet drawer marked "Things Hunters Don't Know If They Haven't Owned A Bird Dog In Nearly 30 Years".
For the last two or three months I've been letting my year-old Griffon pup ride up in the front seat of my pickup. Previously she rode inside a kennel cage in my truck's Astro shell, where she was perfectly happy. But when she finally reached the point where I could trust her not to pee when excited, up front she went.
She's been well behaved riding up front, never lunges across my lap or otherwise interferes with my driving. In fact, most of her time is spent curled up asleep. It's cool having her up front; she likes it when I roll down the window partway so she can stick her head out and sniff the air. It makes for a nice down-home feeling as we roll down the county roads going nowhere in particular.
For the last 20-some years I've done a lot of long distance canoe trips, so occasionally I get a bit of muscle soreness in my back, arms or shoulders. No big deal, and to ward off the aches if and when they come I've kept a small bottle of Tylenol handy in my truck. My truck's manual shift console has a nifty molded place that holds the Tylenol bottle, and it just sits there ready if I need any. Occasionally I'll look inside to see how many pills are left, add more if it's about out. But in the last couple years I haven't gone paddling much, so it became one of those deals where, yes, I knew the bottle was there but, no, I never paid attention to it.
Couple of weeks ago I was in a truck stop eating breakfast. Left my pooch in the cab where she'd keep warm. It was a bitter cold, windy day. I came back out, opened the door and found she'd pulled that pill bottle out of the little molded recess then chewed the bottle to pieces. Fragments of Tylenol pills were scattered on my driver's seat and on the floorboard. No way of knowing how many pills had been inside the bottle, or if she'd ingested any of the stuff. Might have just chewed it and spit it out. And even if I had known these things, I still wouldn't have realized the danger. Really, I'm not sure if Tylenol was even on the shelves 30 years ago (because 30 years ago I would never have needed it).
About an hour later my dog vomited on the floorboard. This happened shortly after, and for the first time ever, I spoiled her by feeding her a couple of cheeseburgers at a Micky D's. I put the two together and figured, well, okay, either she hates cheeseburgers or she wolfed them down too fast and now her stomach is upset. No big deal.
But just minutes later I let her out of the truck for an exercise run, and we were walking along and I noticed her movement had become sluggish. Totally unlike her. She suddenly became wobbly on her feet, almost fell down, then she vomited again, violently. Finally the lights came on in my head: it had to be the Tylenol. She must have eaten some and that's what's making her sick. Luckily we were in range of a cell phone tower; I called the vet and before I could even finish with the details the woman said, "Get her in here RIGHT NOW!"
The next two days were for me a miserable fog of terror and remorse, knowing I'd done something ignorant that could kill or permanently disable my dog that I love so much. But I was lucky and she was luckier; the vet and his assistants immediately went to work on her with various drugs, IVs and substances that absorb stomach contents and counteract the effects of Tylenol -- a medicine which I learned, almost too late, is a lethal toxin when ingested by dogs. The stuff attacks their liver.
So I've still got my dog. Her latest blood test came out perfect and she's Warp Drive certified, fit for the field.
But this was a very, very scary deal and I just wanted to warn any readers out there who might be new to owning a dog, that you should please inspect the environments where you kennel, house and transport your dog. Look them over thoroughly for Tylenol, Advil or such pain-reliever drugs and if you find a container, no matter how small and innocent-looking remove it to a safer spot someplace where your dog can't get hold of it.
For the last two or three months I've been letting my year-old Griffon pup ride up in the front seat of my pickup. Previously she rode inside a kennel cage in my truck's Astro shell, where she was perfectly happy. But when she finally reached the point where I could trust her not to pee when excited, up front she went.
She's been well behaved riding up front, never lunges across my lap or otherwise interferes with my driving. In fact, most of her time is spent curled up asleep. It's cool having her up front; she likes it when I roll down the window partway so she can stick her head out and sniff the air. It makes for a nice down-home feeling as we roll down the county roads going nowhere in particular.
For the last 20-some years I've done a lot of long distance canoe trips, so occasionally I get a bit of muscle soreness in my back, arms or shoulders. No big deal, and to ward off the aches if and when they come I've kept a small bottle of Tylenol handy in my truck. My truck's manual shift console has a nifty molded place that holds the Tylenol bottle, and it just sits there ready if I need any. Occasionally I'll look inside to see how many pills are left, add more if it's about out. But in the last couple years I haven't gone paddling much, so it became one of those deals where, yes, I knew the bottle was there but, no, I never paid attention to it.
Couple of weeks ago I was in a truck stop eating breakfast. Left my pooch in the cab where she'd keep warm. It was a bitter cold, windy day. I came back out, opened the door and found she'd pulled that pill bottle out of the little molded recess then chewed the bottle to pieces. Fragments of Tylenol pills were scattered on my driver's seat and on the floorboard. No way of knowing how many pills had been inside the bottle, or if she'd ingested any of the stuff. Might have just chewed it and spit it out. And even if I had known these things, I still wouldn't have realized the danger. Really, I'm not sure if Tylenol was even on the shelves 30 years ago (because 30 years ago I would never have needed it).
About an hour later my dog vomited on the floorboard. This happened shortly after, and for the first time ever, I spoiled her by feeding her a couple of cheeseburgers at a Micky D's. I put the two together and figured, well, okay, either she hates cheeseburgers or she wolfed them down too fast and now her stomach is upset. No big deal.
But just minutes later I let her out of the truck for an exercise run, and we were walking along and I noticed her movement had become sluggish. Totally unlike her. She suddenly became wobbly on her feet, almost fell down, then she vomited again, violently. Finally the lights came on in my head: it had to be the Tylenol. She must have eaten some and that's what's making her sick. Luckily we were in range of a cell phone tower; I called the vet and before I could even finish with the details the woman said, "Get her in here RIGHT NOW!"
The next two days were for me a miserable fog of terror and remorse, knowing I'd done something ignorant that could kill or permanently disable my dog that I love so much. But I was lucky and she was luckier; the vet and his assistants immediately went to work on her with various drugs, IVs and substances that absorb stomach contents and counteract the effects of Tylenol -- a medicine which I learned, almost too late, is a lethal toxin when ingested by dogs. The stuff attacks their liver.
So I've still got my dog. Her latest blood test came out perfect and she's Warp Drive certified, fit for the field.
But this was a very, very scary deal and I just wanted to warn any readers out there who might be new to owning a dog, that you should please inspect the environments where you kennel, house and transport your dog. Look them over thoroughly for Tylenol, Advil or such pain-reliever drugs and if you find a container, no matter how small and innocent-looking remove it to a safer spot someplace where your dog can't get hold of it.