These naughty pets were caught red-pawed
Exasperated Atlantic Canadians have no end of dog and cat shenanigans to share.
From “devouring a birthday cake — two years in a row — without remorse before a party,” or “eating the phone wire outside the house while alerting the police for a wellness check at night,” or even sneakily getting into bed with the owner “after killing a skunk.”
But despite these fur babies breaking all the rules and many getting caught red-pawed in the act, their owner’s anger and frustrations soon evaporated with love when looking into their guilty-but-adorable pet’s eyes.
Emily Burnie was away on a wine tour for her 40th birthday in the afternoon when her nine-year-old black Labrador mix, Callie, took advantage of the situation.
“I had left a case of cat food on the counter and planned to put it away in the cabinet that evening after feeding the cat. So, my friend came to pick me up to go to Wolfville and played with Callie for a few minutes,” explains the registered veterinary technician. “... as we were leaving, the dog looked sad not to be coming with us. As a result, when I returned home in the evening, all 24 cans of cat food were chewed open, scattered over the house, and hidden in her bed, blankets and furniture.”
Luckily, she says, her dog wasn’t hurt.
“I checked Callie’s mouth and luckily there were no cuts, except one tiny drop of blood on the floor. How she didn’t cut herself open, I don’t know.”
Burnie says Callie has devoured worse things, such as the contents of a counter-top garbage bin.
“Containing a lot of old gross food and a week’s worth of coffee grounds. I took her to the vet clinic I work at to get her to vomit that up. And that was nasty,” she recalls. “A week later, she ate a onekilogram bag of frozen veggies for spaghetti that she grabbed while I went to the bathroom. It had enough onion to be toxic, so she went to the vet to vomit that up.”
Burnie laughs, “She’s a naughty girl, but only if I leave anything on the counter.”
MISHA AND
THE MUSHROOMS
However, nothing compares to Misha the cocker spaniel.
Misha’s drug problems appeared mid-life when she was aged eight.
“Misha lived with me at my parent’s ... until I got married,” explains Loanne MacKay. “Misha had her first incident one day while out in my yard. Suddenly, she ran around at high speed (I live on an acre), then she collapsed, glassy-eyed and tongue hanging out.”
MacKay thought maybe Misha had overheated since it was summer.
“She stayed like that a while but later walked into the house to sleep. Next, it happened with my parents, and my father took Misha to the vet. Dad had caught her foraging and told the vet. The vet said to keep an eye on her and call when she tried again.”
When MacKay’s parents returned home, to their disbelief, they watched Misha trying to eat a mushroom.
“They called the vet, and the vet said the dog is on ‘magic mushrooms.’ So, the vet said to clean and sweep the lawn,” she says. “When Dad took her home to me, he told me the story. We thought it was funny, but every fall, we scour the yard daily for magic mushrooms.”
But it was enough to earn Misha a reputation.
“Later, I took Misha to the vet for something else, and he exclaimed loudly, ‘Oh! The magic mushroom dog.’ Everyone thought it was hilarious. She would never eat an edible mushroom but loved those ‘shrooms.”