Last week I walked into the playroom to a sight I might never see again: Ricky the Beagle asleep on the couch — with an untouched tray of sliced apples not more than than two feet away.
I knew what was going on, of course. Ricky, as many of you know, has epilepsy. Not often, but occasionally, something about the seizures and/or the meds he takes for them makes the scent of his food unappealing. Though we all understand this, it’s still kind of
shocking to watch our little furry 24/7 eating machine take a pass on food.
Ricky takes pills to control his condition every day, even if he hasn’t had a seizure in several weeks. On normal days, the array of tablets he ingests — we always camouflage them in his food — would put an 89-year-old in assisted living to shame. And for the 48 hours following an episode, the number of pills our dog has to swallow is truly staggering.
Beagles are known for howling, stubbornness, and following a scent to the
ends of the earth. They’re also famous for constantly being hungry. I quote from Barron’s Illustrated Guide to 140 Dog Breeds, which I studied — perhaps not quite carefully enough 🙂 — before deciding to buy a beagle: “A Beagle owner should know that the Beagle loves to eat. Not only does the size of
its meals have to be carefully watched, but you also have to make sure your dog doesn’t visit the compost heap in your garden, or your
neighbor’s garbage.” You also need to constantly restrain him from leaping up on your dining room table, I would add. Or from nabbing the bagel right out of your hand on Sunday morning.
And the pills (aside from those very rare instances when his meds turn him off to foods) usually make him 10x more ravenous than he normally is. In other words, he’s constantly starving.
Poor Ricky. All this is yet another reason — besides his movie-star good looks and his heart-melting sweetness — that we forgive our little dog all his sins, and give him pretty much whatever he wants.
Ricky,
You still rock! With all my skin and food allergies and my severe separation anxiety, thank goodness that we both have loving and compassionate owners who loves us unconditionally 🙂
Let me know when you’re coming back to Laguna Beach! Will go sniff around down at the Montage:)
Your friend,
Peanut
Hi Hank and Ricky – We have so much compassion for the “pill” problem. When Gizmo was sick and I had to “pill him” (official terminology) it was a nightmare of epic proportion. In the end, they were spat out anyway, so a major frustration for all. Luckily, I discovered Greenies Pill Pockets. Bingo! Happy kitty, happy kittymom. They also have Pill Pockets for pooches – lots of flavors and so user friendly! Just a suggestion if you’re looking for something different that might appeal to Ricky’s sensitive palate (although your pill presentation was first class!). Hope Ricky feels better soon . . . Kim, Jack & Gizmo
Peanut:
See you in September! Leave some food out for me . . .
Ricky
Pill Pockets — what will they think of next?! Thanks for the suggestion, Kim!
Hi Hank: My second Beagle had epilepsy. I can sympathize with you on this. I guess my dog’s epilepsy wasn’t too severe. He never took any meds for it. He had a seizure every so often. He knew when it would be coming (aura). He always tried to get under the console TV and he would have the seizure and a few minutes later, come out trying to figure out what just happened. It was scary for company, but we were so used to it.
Others recommended pill pockets for Ricky. I always found cheese to be a good hiding place for pills. Have you tried cheese?
Mary
Mary: You’re right on with the cheese! That’s one of our go-to camouflage foods.