An Anecdote Long Overdue

Have you ever learned a lesson that you wish you could have learned an easier way?
I have!

I've learned the hard way to  never give your dog an apple.

Don't worry, I didn't give Deuce a whole apple. I knew better than that. But what, I wondered, could be the harm in giving him just a taste? Say, my leftover core, for example?

Everyone who knows me knows how much I love apples. Especially the small, sweet, red Gala apples that smell so fresh and summery, like they were just picked from the tree. They taste as sweet as honey in your mouth, and when you bite into them you can hear the sharp, crisp CRUNCH. That CRUNCH is one of my favorite parts of eating an apple. You just don't get that audible satisfaction with, say, a banana or an orange.

I just finished my deliciously juicy apple when I noticed Deuce sitting at my feet looking up at me with big, brown, intense puppy-dog eyes. His ears were cocked up, and he had probably been issuing tiny whines of "I want some of that" while I was eating my apple. Unfortunately I was too absorbed in my CRUNCHING to hear him. Now however, I was all too aware of his presence, and of the split-splat split-splat that was his drool falling to the floor. I could tell he was saying, "just one bite...PLEASE!" He was being very polite about it (well, except for the drooling). I was feeling generous that day so I decided to give him the entire core. He must've liked it as much as I did because he gobbled it up as fast as I could blink! His little tail was wagging happily like he was saying, "Thank you!"

The next day Michael and I put Deuce in his kennel, kissed his sweet head good-bye, and left for work. Boy, did we have a surprise when we got home. Poor Deuce! That apple core must've made his little tummy so sick. When we got home we found throw-up and poop all over the floor of his kennel. Michael cleaned up at lunch when he came home to let him out, and I cleaned up when I got home after school. We both had our fair share of cleaning up Deuce's slimy, sticky, smelly mess. Not only was I disgusted by his mess, but I also felt terribly guilty that it was all my fault that he got sick. I learned that no matter how cute Deuce looks and how polite he acts to never, ever give him an apple. Now that's learning something the hard way!

(This happened after he got into a bag of sweet potatoes that ended up producing the same result. So needless to say, all fruits and vegetables are off limits.)