Last Friday was a little too interesting, if you know what I mean.
One of the local elementary schools, Nativity, has a little carnival at the end of each school year, so this year, I decided to take Kaline. It was his first carnival, and he did really well, except for being a little spastic right at the beginning. Note to self: Warm up Kaline before entering places such as carnivals.
Once he got in his groove, he was awesome. I kept the expectations pretty low, not asking for a lot from him. All I wanted was general calm, ability to focus when asked, basic obedience like sit, down, and touch. We did several passes through the various crowded corridors and visited all the rides. I thought he'd be a little more unsettled by their weirdness.
Our basic M.O. was to get pretty close to the ride, as close as possible with Kaline still acting relaxed and focused. Which turned out to be right up against the fences most of the time. I'd let him look at the ride for a while if he wanted, and then start rewarding for switching his attention back to me. After about one or two rides, he didn't even really want to look at them. He was just staring at me, like, “Okay, we're close to this thing, where's my food?” I was very pleasantly surprised.
We did the spinning apples, the little planes that go up and down, the Ferris wheel (which was in the very long process of loading), the Zipper, one of those crazy rides where the seats are on long ropes and as it spins you rise up in the air, that whirly one where you get pressed against the walls, etc. We also checked out the various food booths, went by the little concert, and browsed the various loud games. None of it fazed Kaline; he was perfectly happy to focus, or do a down stay at a distance with the crowd just behind him. There were a couple attempted drive-by pets, but nothing major. A lovely man came over just to ask how Kaline was doing with the chaotic atmosphere and to ask nice questions about his training.
After the carnival (we were there no more than 30 minutes), Dad picked us up to meet Mom for dinner. Juno was at home, and Dad was in charge of Juno-proofing the house before he left. Well, while we were at dinner, Juno nosed open a closet that had been left ajar and which happened to contain all the chocolate my parents bought in Holland. Naturally, she proceeded to eat it all, leaving the living room and dining room strewn with a festive assortment of wrappers. I wish I'd taken photos, but Mom was absolutely irate and probably wouldn't have looked on that very kindly.
Normally when Juno eats chocolate, it's not a huge deal. She's a big dog and in the past has been able to handle it with no effects beyond being a little extra peppy. But this was about a pound and a half of chocolate, much of it dark, so I took her to the emergency vet. Vomiting was induced, and she was given activated charcoal and subcutaneous fluids.
I called home to say we were on our way back, only to learn that while Kaline was under Dad's supervision (nominally), he attempted to eat a plastic measuring cup. He broke the handle into a bunch of jagged little shards and swallowed at least a few. Back to the emergency room. At least this time Dad drove us.
I was more worried with Kaline, because I didn't know if the shards he swallowed were enough to puncture any of his innards. Luckily, he threw them all up ... along with a squeaker! Which could have actually been more serious than the plastic. He tore up a toy while at Freddie's (he doesn't have the opportunity here) so I assume that's how he got the squeaker.
Needless to say, it was a very long and tiring night. Happily, both dogs are completely fine and back to work after a weekend of very light activity, and the emergency vet even gave me a discount on Kaline's bill. Bulk discount for two dogs in one night, haha!
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