Sweet Buddy

In August, a friend from church needed a home to place her little dog for about 8 months. Buddy is a 4 year old long haired dachshund, and just the sweetest thing you ever saw. Since I had recently had Hollie put down, I offered to take him.  He moved in on Labor Day weekend and quickly became the king of the house. Who could resist those darling eyes, that soft body snuggling up next to me, kisses galore, and his insistence that he should sleep in my bedroom to “protect” me all night? I couldn’t and quickly fell in love. I have told his owner several times that she was going to have a hard time getting him back from me. She always laughed and shook her head at me.

Last night, Dale and I were eating chocolate chips in the family room and stepped away to the computer room for a minute. When we came back, we didn’t notice anything for about a half hour, but then Buddy started vomiting and we found the empty chocolate chip bag on the floor. I had heard chocolate was dangerous for dogs and checked the internet to see what to do. I read that chocolate is an incredible stimulant in dogs that their heart and nervous system cannot tolerate. They recommended rushing him to the vet, so we did.

I won’t go into all the details, but just to say that Buddy did not survive. I reached my friend this morning and through sobs, I  told her what had happened. She was incredibly gracious, insisting she didn’t fault me as she knew how much I loved little Buddy.  I still feel horrible about it, on top of my great sadness over Buddy’s sudden departure.

Such a hard lesson, but I hope anyone who reads this will now understand the danger of chocolate in dogs and take every precaution to avoid what happened to us.

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8 Responses to Sweet Buddy

  1. Sara says:

    Poor Buddy! So sorry this had to happen to you and T. Mourning with you both. So sad!

  2. Heather says:

    Oh my. That is so sad. There are no words. Prayers for you and Buddy’s owner.

  3. Korri says:

    Donna, I am so sorry! I don’t even know what to say except that I’m sorry. Thanks for the reminder, I needed to be reminded of that. I had no idea chocolate was that dangerous for dogs. Thank you for posting and again, I’m so sorry for the loss.

  4. Mom says:

    I responded, but it never came up. After the way I felt about Please, you know how I emphasize with you. And no matter what “they” say, I don’t think that you ever completely “get over it”. I’m so sorry.

  5. Cindy Needham says:

    Donna, I didn’t realize you were fostering Buddy for someone else temporarily. Losing our pets is so hard and doubly hard in this case. I know how awful you must feel.

  6. Daryl says:

    He was a cute puppy. I never had to wash my feet after visiting your house, though I did need to dry them.

  7. Richard says:

    I had heard of this but never knew anyone to whom it happened. Sure is a sad thing.

  8. Jocelyn says:

    Oh, my heart just aches for all of you. Such an important reminder, thank you for writing and sharing. Sending you a big hug

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