The Missing Bag of Candy
You’ve seen pictures of our house lately. It’s total chaos. We are having our kitchen remodeled. Everything is out of the drawers and cabinets. Essentials are piled on any flat surface we could find or erect. We’ve been like this for nearly 4 weeks.
Yesterday Owen and Ella came to stay with us for 3 days. Perhaps not the best time to have a 3-year-old and 5-year-old around; but hey, Grandmas take their grandkids whenever there is the opportunity, right?
Our stove was still covered in plastic, protecting it from the painting that was going on; so I took the kids down to the local deli for a hamburger for dinner. I admit, I was a bit frazzled at the time. Trying to corral 2 excited children and 2 energetic dogs and get everyone where they needed to be was a bit… harried. I felt exhausted by the time I got the kids into their car seats and was ready to drive away.
But we made it to the deli and had our dinner, with only one spilled full glass of ice water that went all over the table and onto both Owen and me. Between the up-and-down trips I made to get more napkins, more ketchup, straws, spoons, and more water, I remembered why it’s way easier to take little ones out to eat when there are 2 (or more) adults present.
When we leave the house, we typically put Riley and Stella (our dogs) into the bedroom and shut the door. That is their they-are-leaving-now-and-will-be-back-soon place. They are comfy there and don’t get into trouble.
So I was rather surprised when I opened the front door and was greeted by 2 barking dogs. Hmmm…. .I know I put them in the bedroom. Did I not shut the door? With all that was going on at once, that must have been it. I took a quick glance around and was relieved to see that they hadn’t disturbed anything the painters left behind or done anything to mark up the newly glazed cabinets.
Later that evening, when the kids were finally asleep, I plopped down on the couch and noticed some brown spots on a white blanket that I keep there. Uhhh… ?? It smelled like chocolate. I looked around a bit more and found a half-eaten Hershey’s Nugget on the floor. As my husband and I tried to figure out where they could have gotten just this one Nugget, I remembered that I hadn’t put away a bag of groceries yet; and that bag of groceries was sitting on a low stool, easily within the reach of a dog. (What was I thinking?) And yes, the entire bag was gone.
Neither dog was acting sick; but, of course, chocolate is not good for dogs to put it mildly.
It was late. We put the dogs to bed and tried to figure out how in the world we would find that bag of chocolate with the house as it is. There are a million places Riley (who is our hoarder) could have hidden it. But this morning, when I was a bit more rested, I remembered that Riley always goes back to find his “treasures” and moves them to a “safer” place. So I kept my eye on him and it was only a matter of time before he led me right to the bag.
The bag was almost empty. Only 4 pieces of chocolate remained. The question now is…. did they eat all of that chocolate, or did Riley take it, piece by piece, and hide it. That’s entirely possible. He’s done that before.
So we are on the lookout for Hershey’s Nuggets around our house. In corners, under pillows, anywhere Riley thinks is safe. We know most of his hiding spots; it’s just trying to get to them now; that’s the problem.
Since neither Riley nor Stella were sick during the night, and since they aren’t acting unusual in any way, my guess is they didn’t eat all of the chocolate. But that definitely remains to be seen.
Stella was just an innocent Bystander who enjoyed the
fruits of my crime.
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Oh, you were lucky! My dachshund got into dark chocolate M&Ms last winter and spent a very expensive night at the animal hospital
If they made it through the night, they should be ok. It’s cute that you know his routine and just watch where he goes. I hope you find it all.
They wanted you to have an Easter egg hunt so they hid the candy. LOL
Oh too funny! You really had your hands full yesterday. I think Riley just wanted to be the Easter ? Bunny and let you have an egg hunt amid all the chaos lol!!
Leave it Ito your dog to find anything edible that wasn’t put away properly. A couple weeks ago I was in the process of making a salad when my daughter came in. I went downstairs to show her something when we heard a loud “thump” from upstairs. A few minutes! later, Dug our dog comes downstairs with half a cabbage to enjoy at his leisure. No cole slaw today!
Oh dear! Riley never misses an opportunity, does he? LOL Thankfully no serious harm was done. Hopefully, you’ll get things back in place before long.
Sugar, our previous mini Schnauzer, ate a small bag of Hershey kisses that were on the dining table when we wen’t to Disney World. Little pieces of silver wrappers were all over the place! I found out the darker chocolate is more likely to cause serious harm or death. She was very hyperactive though and took several walks through out the night to get rid of her pent-up energy.
What a wonderful story! I do hope that both dogs remain OK! Never had a problem with chocolate BUT my Doberman “Shadow” who had a typical mile-long Doberman tongue once slurped a low-dose Valium tablet off my dining room table literally out from underneath my hand. Went through jr. hi & sr. hi with my vet so called him at home, it was about 11 PM. He asked her weight, dosage of tablet and said “well, she’ll get a VERY good night’s sleep but she should be fine. If she seems unlike herself, give me a call in them morning”. Thankfully Shadow was fine! About 13 years prior, my husband and I had a German Shepherd, Ft. Worth, TX police dept. stock, full barrel chest, weighed in at 125 lbs. 20 more than me and only 3 less than my husband, we were ALL young back then. Came home from work one day and couldn’t find the pork chops I’d set in the sink to thaw. Searched everywhere and finally found the meat wrapper and tray in the kitchen trash. Called my hubbie at work to ask, “what the heck”. HE found the wrapper and tray in the utility room in the floor. Called the vet in a panic, he asked when it had happened and I could only say sometime between 8 AM and 10-11 AM. That was the time hubbie usually got up as he worked at least till midnight. Vet said if the dog wasn’t sick yet, he would probably be OK but to bring him in the next morning for a check. Max (the shepherd) slept just fine that night, Steve and I didn’t sleep a wink for worry! And sure enough, Max continued to be fine! Apparently dogs are quite resilient!!!!
Oh, my! I would have been worried about Shadow too! How great that you had the type of relationship that allowed you to feel comfortable calling your vet! LOL on the pork chops too! That happened to me once, but with a cat!
Was so sorry today to learn that you’ve been sick! And so amazing that you’ve been writing back to all of us anyway! That takes true dedication and we do thank you! We also thank you SO VERY MUCH for the birthday gift. You’re still a baby BTW. I hit the big 70 in mid-January and sometimes I feel like it’s all downhill now! Hopefully spring and summer will cheer me up! No nests around here but I do have two Eurasian collared doves that visit my feeder nearly every day. There are ALWAYS two so I’m assuming a loving pair!