An Arthur Update

Arthur has developed a taste for chocolate.

When he was a puppy, I left a single Hershey kiss in a candy dish that was apparently in his reach.  We barely let him out of our site at that point, but when I came in from the other room, he was licking an open wrapper from the kiss.  I freaked out.  I started putting my shoes on, getting my purse, etc., ready to take him to the vet.  Sawan said, “Hold on a minute, lets look it up.” And found on the internet that milk chocolate is better than dark chocolate, and your dog can eat up to one ounce per pound that they weigh and it won’t be an issue.  So one Hershey kiss is less than an ounce.  Not so much a big deal.

Over the probably two years since that has happened, I’ve gotten more and more lax about leaving stuff out around him.  He really is such a good boy that I’ve never really needed to worry about it.  I used to crate him whenever I couldn’t be with him, but eventually I could just leave him to wander around the house and he never did anything but sit in the chair by the front window or lay on my bed.  So the day that Ellie left for London she walks into the salon in a panic.  Arthur had opened her purse and gotten into her snacks for the plane ride, which included chocolate.  I asked her how many he ate, and she told me four small (milk) chocolates.  He was also started on a snickers bite when she caught him.  He had it neatly opened, as though he had opposable thumbs, and had one corner bitten off, looked up at her, not like he had been busted, but sweetly, as if to say, “Hey, Ellie, thanks for the treats!   I’ll split this one with ya!”  So, I knew that less than 4 oz to a 19lb dog was no big deal, I needed to watch him and he would probably be sick, but I didn’t need to take him to the vet.

She just got back from London and he got into her purse once again.  (Knocked it off the chair, opened the snaps, then got three bags of candy open.)  This time, he got all of her special treats that she bought while over there, special stuff you can only buy in London.  Lemon bonbons.  Treacle toffee.  More chocolate.   We’re not quite sure how much he ate, but a lot.  He acted completely normal.  Now, this dog is a puker under normal circumstances.  I can’t feed him any food or treats that have egg or chicken, because I’ll be cleaning up puke all over my house.  But feed my dog a half a pound of expensive candy and he’s just fine.  He’s just like his mom.