Radiant Rachel Reflecting on Ruby, Rails, Righteous Rants and Random Rubbish
Posts tagged Isabella
We Had to Take Izzie to the ER
January 26, 2012
in Pets
Last night we had to take Izzie to the ER. It was totally my fault but wanted to post about it so that if one of my readers came about this post, they would heed my warning.
In my office I have a packet of paper tacked to my cork board that has little over one hundred food and plant items that are toxic to dogs. Many of these items I didn’t know were toxic before I got Isabella even though I’ve had a dog in my life for more than a decade (did they not distribute this information in the past?)
When I first brought Izzie home, I reviewed this list and tried to remember this as much as possible and I am usually very careful with what I feed her. For instance, she has a horrible allergy to wheat, and if she eats anything containing it, she breaks out in hives and won’t stop biting herself where she flares up. I don’t feed her table scraps and I scold Adam whenever he feeds her from the table.
That being said, she IS a corgi, and they are well-know for their insatiable appetite and will do anything short of killing you to get a piece of food. Last night, I was finishing up a plate of Thai fried rice and pulled out a bunch of onions that I didn’t want to eat. I had to run to the restroom and left the plate out. From the back of the house, I could hear Izzie jump on the couch and audible gulp the remaining morsels from my dinner plate. No volume of screaming from the restroom would halt her in her food reverie and a few moments later she waltz into the bedroom licking the stay food particles from her lips.
It was then a race around the house trying to find out exactly how much onions were toxic to dogs and who I should contact at 10:30 at night in case it was going to be an emergency.
My first call was to the Animal Poison Control Line run by the ASPCA. After waiting on hold for a few minutes and giving them all my information on the incident, the operator then told me that it would be a charge of $65 before they could even give me advice. This wouldn’t count any time of actual emergency intervention, just advice.
I quickly hung up and dialed my veterinarian. Unsurprisingly, they were closed but gave me numbers to two 24-hour emergency animal hospitals in Brooklyn and I gave them a call. The first hospital was already dealing with an emergency but did tell me that I needed to get her attention soon. I called the second hospital and they too confirmed that she needed to throw up the onions. I could either give her hydrogen peroxide (not the stuff you use on your hair) or bring her to the hospital. I had none of the hydrogen peroxide at home and it would take probably 20 minutes to pick some up at the local CVS and even then it wouldn’t be a sure bet that she would actually vomit.
All the while I am freaking out running around the house, Izzie had since plopped herself down on the carpet and was already ready for bed. I decided to tell her we were going for a walk and quickly shuffled her to the car so I could speed down 4th Avenue to the animal hospital.
When she was finally seen by a technician, they alerted me that onions are particularly harmful to dogs because it causes anemia, which makes them lethargic and prevent oxygen from getting into their red blood cells. If she isn’t treated, the worst that could happen to her was that she would need a full blood transfusion otherwise she would die. Soon that $200 vet bill didn’t sound too bad.
They gave her an injection of a medication that would make her nauseous, but she was still quite stubborn before she gave up those onions! The process made her pretty loopy and I had to take turns with Adam to carry her back home from the car and she spent the rest of the evening curled up in her bed.
The Take-away
If you have fur-children, be sure to keep a list of toxic foods/plants in your house for reference and be careful what you have laying out that your pets could possibly get into.
Also keep an emergency veterinarian number in your mobile phone. And if there isn’t a 24-hour hospital in your area to call, at least get the ASPCA number in your phone, you might be out $65 for advice but better than burying your loved-one.
A lot of people know about how chocolate is toxic to dogs, but the reality is that most chocolate has a high milk content and dogs (depending on weight) need a LOT of chocolate in order to get to toxicity. Usually, chocolate is not as bad as you may think unless they decide to gorge on a pound of 85% cacao. Onions, and other surprising food items, are actually a lot worse.
For a list of toxic food and plants for your fur-child, download a copy of this list to keep around the house. http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/poison-control/plants/
Little Dog in the Big City
September 22, 2010
in Adventures, Pets
Isabella and Adam in Grand Central Station
On Saturday, I made the brave decision to bring Izzie on the Metro-North and travel down to Grand Central Station for her first trip into the city of New York.
I was nervous to bring her on the train even though I’ve seen other puppy parents do it, plus it was the weekend when there would be noticeably fewer people traveling. However, Izzie gets territorial and protective over me, and it was no different this time and she barked and whined and many people who approached me on the platform.
She turned into an angel though whenever we got on the train. She immediately shut up and huddled close to my legs and sat on my feet. She was nervous but seemed to take the same approach to traveling on the train as she does when she’s in the car.
We pulled into Grand Central Station and exited the train to the platform. Everything was going quite well but then for some reason Izzie suddenly planted all four paws on the cement and refused to move even with my urging and leash tugging. I resorted to picking the poor girl up and carrying her to the main concourse. She briefly met with a new beagle friend as we walked up the stair cases to the outside.
The day wasn’t without some messes from the nervous dog, but I think she did remarkably well considering she is more of a suburban, almost farm suited, dog. We will be eventually moving to Brooklyn so really it was a matter of time before she would need to be exposed to crowds of people.
We met my fiancé, Adam at the New York Times building and made a pit stop at a local cup cake shop for an early birthday present! Our little family trekked down to the piers next to the Intrepid where we knew there was a small dog park. About a dozen or so dogs were in and out of the compound through the afternoon while we were there, and while we were hoping Izzie would be more social, after we took her leash off she was apparently quite content just sitting next to us in the shade. I felt like a mommy trying to get her reluctant child to go off and play with other children on the first day of kindergarten!
Adam attempted to get her to play in the kiddie pool that the town had set up for the dogs to play in but she would have none of that! She immediately jumped out and went back to chilling out in the shade. I couldn’t blame her, she seemed to be relaxing and enjoying herself. After more coaxing and a little more playing, we decided to start to head back to Westchester, but first stopped at the Shake Shack in Midtown that we had heard so much about! Luckily the lines weren’t took long and we were able to snag a small cup of soft serve ice cream that we shared (Izzie was particularly fond of the treat!) The trip back home was otherwise, luckily, uneventful and again Izzie was a perfect little angel on the train.
Mommy and daddy wrapped up the night by having dinner at a local Italian restaurant that was down the street from my place but in the two years I’ve lived in Elmsford, I had no clue it existed! We joked that it was better that we didn’t know about it, otherwise we would have been poor and fat from going to it often. When we got the menus we picked out appetizer and main courses but entertained the server when he asked us if we wanted to hear the specials. We were immediately awestruck at the specials offered and changed everything we had planned on ordering. 
Adam ordered a delicious duck that was roasted in, of all things, strawberries and strawberry sauce! We started with the crab cake and for my main course I tried the lemony swordfish. The night wrapped up with a huge slide of tiramisu that we couldn’t finish.
All in all a great way to ring in my birthday! 
Hot Weather and Your Pet
July 21, 2010
in Pets
My poor Isabella has been sick since Independence Day and I think all this hot weather is to blame. Adam and I decided to take an afternoon walk that Sunday and Izzie tagged along. Well, perhaps “tagged along” is the wrong phrase because it turned into us dragging her along the road in the heat as we made our way to the dairy farm up the road from my parents’ house with frequent stops in the shade of the few trees that spotted the road.
I really should have known better than to bring her outside. She’s notoriously bad in hot weather (who wouldn’t be in that much fur!), so much so that even on tame 70 degree days when we bring her to the dog park in White Plains, she’ll spend most of her time huddled by me under the cement bench in the shade.
Happy Birthday, Isabella!
April 24, 2010
in Pets
Izzie 5 Weeks
My baby, Princess Isabella of Ascot, turns 2 today.
It’s hard to believe that we’ve been together for almost 2 years. Every day you look up to me to take care of you, feed you your favorite kibble, take you on long walks, and rub your belly and pat your head. There’s not much else you want from this world other than to feel loved and I’m here to give it!
Unfortunately, Izzie spent most of the day by herself because Adam and I had an engagement party to go to (or so we thought, we actually got the date wrong!) But when we got back, we fed her a special doggie version of a black and white cookie and her favorite treat, a tri-twisted bully stick.
She seemed to know it was a special day for her, every time she heard someone go by the apartment she would yell out, “It’s my birthday!” to anyone that would listen.
To Pet Owners
January 14, 2010
in Pets
I found this on MyCorgi.com on someone else’s blog and I just had to share:
The following was found posted very low on a refrigerator door.
Dear Dogs and Cats: The dishes with the paw prints are yours and contain your food. The other dishes are mine and contain my food. Placing a paw print in the middle of my plate and food does not stake a claim for it becoming your food and dish, nor do I find that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest.
The stairway was not designed by NASCAR and is not a racetrack.. Racing me to the bottom is not the object. Tripping me doesn’t help because I fall faster than you can run.
I cannot buy anything bigger than a king sized bed. I am very sorry about this. Do not think I will continue sleeping on the couch to ensure your comfort, however. Dogs and cats can actually curl up in a ball when they sleep. It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other, stretched out to the fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking tails straight out and having tongues hanging out on the other end to maximize space is nothing but sarcasm.
For the last time, there is no secret exit from the bathroom! If, by some miracle, I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it is not necessary to claw, whine, meow, try to turn the knob or get your paw under the edge in an attempt to open the door. I must exit through the same door I entered. Also, I have been using the bathroom for years – canine/feline attendance is not required.
The proper order for kissing is: Kiss me first, then go smell the other dog or cat’s butt. I cannot stress this enough.
Finally, in fairness, dear pets, I have posted the following message on the front door:
TO ALL NON-PET OWNERS WHO VISIT AND LIKE TO COMPLAIN ABOUT OUR PETS:
(1) They live here. You don’t.
(2) If you don’t want their hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture. That’s why they call it ‘fur’-niture.
(3) I like my pets a lot better than I like most people.
(4) To you, they are animals. To me, they are adopted sons/daughters who are short, hairy, walk on all fours and don’t speak clearly.Remember, dogs and cats are better than kids because they:
(1) eat less,
(2) don’t ask for money all the time,
(3) are easier to train,
(4) normally come when called,
(5) never ask to drive the car,
(6) don’t smoke or drink,
(7) don’t want to wear your clothes,
(8) don’t have to buy the latest fashions,
(9) don’t need a gazillion dollars for college and
(10) if they get pregnant, you can sell their children …
With it being so damn cold this winter, the thing about the bed hits close to home since Izzie has taken up jumping on the bed to sleep with me again. She, of course, demands the prime position on the bed, usually at the foot of the bed on MY side or crawls on to my lap to sleep. The other night we got into a growling match because I picked her up and moved her to the other side of the bed so I could stretch out. Um, dog! Who do you think gives you your food? It doesn’t just appear out of nowhere!
