Mama Learned A New Trick

Junie in her new sweater. She is so cute in purple.

Mom has been mixing in Blue Buffalo Stews with my dry dog food.  When she picked up new food, she grabbed some new varieties including Blue Buffalo Wilderness Canned Dog Food, Salmon Recipe.  When she opened the can, she was mighty surprised to see it wasn't stew, it was, well, kind of mush.  Like what you would expect canned dog food to be.

She dished it out for me in my bowl and sat it down.  I sniffed at it.  Then I started licking at it but I couldn't get my teeth around it.  If you haven't followed my story from the beginning, it is here, but the short story is, my jaw was broke at the puppy mill.  No one got it fixed.  My teeth don't line up at all.  In order for me to get food in my mouth, I have to be able to pick it up with my tongue and move towards the back.  I couldn't get this food up.  I was trying so hard.

Mom looked at me struggling and her heart broke.  She thought about it.  She was wondering what she could do to make it easier for me.  Light bulb moment She got out a small plate and put my food all on that.  She's brilliant.  Without the sides of the bowl in my way, I could maneuver around to get the food in my mouth.  She said she is going to get me one of those plates for babies, the ones with the suction cups on the bottom, because even on the rug, the plate moved around on me as I was trying to get the food into my mouth.

She loves me.

She is also gradually switching me from the Blue Buffalo Longevity Dry Food for Adult Dogs to the Blue Buffalo Life Protection Dry Food for Small Breed Dogs.  She is hoping since the pieces are a little bit smaller that I won't have as much trouble chewing them.  She knows that when switching dog food brands that you have to go slowly, but she wasn't sure if the same holds true if your just switching formulas within the same brand. She said she would rather be safe than sorry with my tummy.

She's not even sure if I actually NEED the dry dog food.  She thought I did, to help clean my teeth, but is it absolutely necessary?  If she brushes my teeth twice a day (which I HATE by the way and I guarantee you she is not getting them very clean when she does it because I do not open my mouth for her), would it be ok to just give me the stew and the soft food?  I mean, there are dogs out there that only eat food their humans prepare for them.  Isn't that kind of the same thing?

Any dog experts out there want to weigh in because I don't know.

She also talked to another vet yesterday about getting my teeth cleaned really good.  This vet has a health plan for dogs.  It covers all of my shots, my check ups, blood work (I don't like the sound of that - that has to do with that band aid thing they put on me at the vet last time doesn't it?).  It also gives her 15% off of my medicines, like my heart worm and flea pills.  This vet is at a pet store, but this pet store doesn't sell dogs and cats.  They work with a rescue to adopt the rescued animals out.  It bothers her though that they sell other animals, like hamster, guinea pigs, and birds.  The vet at this pet store though, tried so hard to save her gerbil when she had a stroke.  No one else that my mom called would see a gerbil.  She called the vet at this pet store and they said, yes we see rodents.  Bring her right in and we'll get her checked.  People laughed when they heard my mom took her sick gerbil to the vet, but that's just how my mom is.  The vet there wasn't sure if the gerbil had a respiratory infection or if she had had a stroke, but she did everything she could within reason to save the little gerbil.  My mom tried giving the gerbil her antibiotics, she tried giving her fluids with an eye dropper.  All she could do was keep her warm.  It turned out she had had a stroke and she died later that evening, wrapped in a blanket with my mom and the kids with her.

This was before my time here, but I heard mom talking to the kids about it yesterday, reminding them of who this vet was.  This family sure does love their pets, even the small ones that most people wouldn't take the time to take them to the vet if they are sick.

The oldest boy asked mom if he could get a mouse yet.  Mom said no.  She gets so attached to these little critters and they are gone too soon.  They had a dwarf hamster that lived almost 4 years.  Mom (and everyone else) was amazed he lived that long. Their life expectancy is 2-3 years. He died of old age.  He died in front of the Oldest Boy and the Oldest Girl a few years ago.  He was climbing up the bars of his cage, stopped, and just fell to the bottom.  Just like that he was gone.

I am going to live to a ripe old dog age.  That's what my mama says.  She says she's always right. :)

Junie Says To Check Out:  The Healthy Dog Cookbook: 50 Nutritious & Delicious Recipes Your Dog Will Love