Our poor dog!

Chester had a rough day today and we learned a lot about 'parenting a dog'! :(

Last night we'd had BBQ beef ribs for supper. We let Chester enjoy some of the bones. There was a lot of fat on the meat, so we cut it off and threw away all the excess fat. Well, in the middle of the night I heard Chester downstairs, so I came down and checked on him, only to see that he'd tipped the trash over. I scolded him and we both went back upstairs to bed. I really didn't give it a second thought. Until this morning...

I awake to Chester vomitting! This continued 5-6 times over the next three hours. It was HORRIBLE! He was so sick and weak and not even hardly moving. I called the Vet who said to give him some pepto bismal and let him rest. She said that it may just be a 'tummy ache' due to the fact that when he got in the trash he probably ate the entire plate of greasy fat! Or, it could cause a blockage and we'd need to call them immediately, or it could be fatal. I was so scared because he is a very energetic, happy dog, who's eyes light up all the time, and this morning all he did was lay around or vomit. He looked awful, as the above picture shows.

Thankfully, though, by this afternoon he began to perk up. I think he has gotten all the 'yuck' out of his system and is on the 'up and up'. I'm so grateful! He's a beloved member of our family and I know we'd all be so sad if he had a horrible blockage or something! When the boys came home from school today he at least greeted them at the door with his tail wagging, which was a huge change from this morning!

So, not only should we have taken the trash out before bed, but I also was told by the Vet to NOT give him ANY bones ever again as they can be potentially life-threatening to him! Wow -- are we clueless 'doggie parents' or what?