On October 9th my brother Marc got a puppy. He emailed my siblings and me with his utter enthusiasm about his new doggie. Marc has always been a dog person. From the time he got his first dog Jeffrey more than 50 years ago. So we knew that this new puppy was very lucky to have found her way into his heart and home.
He sent us this photo along with his sweet request to help him come up with a name. We all sent him ideas. It was a fun long-distance family way to welcome this little pup into our family from coast to coast. Marc and his partner Zanne decided on the name Pearl for black pearls which are rare, only one in 10,000 pearls are black. So, we welcomed this rare little beauty into our family. "Hello, Pearl" we all shouted to her from miles and miles away.
Marc and Zanne fell in love with this pup right away. She was smart and so well behaved for a 12 week old. She was easy to train and loved to play with her toys. She always put her toys back on her sleep cushion.
She also loved going outside with them into the garden. Marc has 80 acres of land in Virginia. He grows much of his own fruit and vegetables. He works the soil often. He has been there for many, many years. Introducing Pearl to the garden was interesting. She liked to go out there and eat things. Last Saturday on October 16th, Pearl was out in the garden and ate a toad. No, she didn't actually chew it and swallow it, she just swallowed it whole. Not a good thing at all. She started foaming at the mouth right away. Big frothy foam. Marc cleaned her up, and after a little while she seemed okay. No long-lasting issues. Then she started to eat some mushrooms. Also not a good thing at all. Marc stopped her, but she had eaten several mushrooms.
Pearl started to get sick a day later. Very sick. She was throwing up and had started pooping all over the place. So, Marc called the vet and brought her in to be seen. He realized it was likely that she had been eating poisonous mushrooms. There had been several days of rain before they headed out into the garden. The mushrooms had sprouted up everywhere.
The vet kept Pearl there on an IV drip. Her glucose levels were well below normal. She was not doing well at all. The vet did all she could do to help, but Pearl was dying of intestinal issues brought on by what she had eaten. Very early Thursday morning she died.
The other day my twin brother saw a neighbor out for a walk with her dog. Michael had seen this neighbor many times with her dog out on walks, but this was the first time the dog was wearing a muzzle. Michael asked why and the neighbor said it was because she couldn't stop the dog from eating so many not-good things when out their walks. She said it had already cost her lots of money at the vet to handle all of her eating mistakes.
I had no idea dogs did stuff like this, eat things that are not only bad but could literally end their short sweet little lives. So, that's our very sad and cautionary tale. Please watch what your dogs eat out there. You never know if that toad or mushroom is going to be the sad end.
Rest In Peace, Pearl.