Freddie’s Phobia
Some years ago, an eagle tried to make off with our puppy, Frederick (named after my favorite philosopher). I cannot begin to tell you how traumatic that was for us, especially Freddie. Ever since, he's been afraid of his own shadow, wholly and completely unable to savor the joy that is a dog's life. He is happiest tamely chewing his rubber sword on the rug in front of the fireplace rather than running around in the fresh air chasing squirrels digging up the bulbs in my flower beds, the postman or the neighborhood children.
Desiring justice for Freddie, we chose to ignore our good sense and general love of all God's creatures. I'm not proud to say we sprinkled poison on some wild bunnies who we knew were destined to be the eagle's meal before long. It didn't matter, though. The damage was done to poor Freddie.
I used to laugh when he would trip over his massive puppy paws (a Mastiff, he is now a two hundred pound big baby) to escape the shadow of the robins that nest in our trees...until he caused himself serious injury when he turned and crashed against a tree that, in his anxious state, he forgot was there. Let's just say, it is not easy getting him to the vet. Plus, our veterinary bills horrify me almost as much as Freddie's repeatedly bloody head.
Recently, after bumping into one of our less sturdy fruit trees, Freddie made a more pleasant discovery. An apple fell on his head. He attacked it, and realized he loved the flavor. He tried to scale the tree to reach more. The tree won. How he whined. But we cheered him up that evening with a dish of sliced apples. Little Charlotte tried to share some of her raisins to go with the apple slices. Fortunately, we caught her before we had to make another emergency visit to the vet.
Did know a single raisin or grape can give your dog kidney failure?