By Jan Penton-Miller
Columnist
Miss Winnie is laying smack dab in the middle of my lap with her chew toy
looking like the princess that she is. After a couple of days with an upset tummy
we thought a trip to the veterinarian was in order.
Now, after several days of three different medications our little one is almost back
to her normal self. I don’t know what our girl ingested that upset her tummy so
badly, but I have a new suspicion.
When we took Winnie in for treatment they kept her for a few hours to run tests
and give her fluids. Mike and I racked our brains for what she may have eaten,
but we really couldn’t pin it down. Mike had put out ant poison, but we tried really
hard to keep her out of it.
Thankfully, it didn’t show up in her system. Her blood work came back perfectly
normal so we had no real idea what the culprit was.
Winnie just had her first birthday, so we changed her diet from puppy formula to
adult. Her vet thought that may have been the problem so we went back to puppy
food. And those little people snacks that she loves so well have also stopped.
My walking buddies have seen me wrangle dead frogs and dog poop from her
mouth when we walk the neighborhood so there was no clear answer to her
digestive issues since she will eat anything from a leaf or twig to something that
is smelly and gross!
After a long hiatus from flying our sweet girl, Melinda, came in from Tennessee
for a short trip this week. It was great to have her home, and we had a wonderful
visit. I think perhaps she solved the Winnie mystery. We both love plants and
gardening so we were sitting in the backyard comparing notes on what we had
growing this year while enjoying a cup of coffee.
“Mom, when did you plant that wisteria? I think I read somewhere that it can be
poisonous to dogs.”
Needless to say, the wisteria is now a thing of the past. It was beautiful, but we
found it a good home with no curious puppies around. Mike also moved a
yesterday, today, and tomorrow plant from our back yard to the front a couple of
weeks ago when I read that they were toxic.

This has been an eye opening experience for us. We are so thankful that Winnie
is on the mend, and we won’t be planting anything without researching to see if it
can be harmful. I’m sure many people have pets that don’t eat anything and
everything, but not our Winnie!