(169) Max the Great Black Hunter

Max is the Great Black Hunter! A back yard hunter that is. This morning when Brad put the dogs out after he fed them, he looked out to see Beeker standing on the back step and Maxie nowhere to be seen. Turns out he was on the hunt. By the time Brad got the flashlight and stepped outside, he saw Maxie, drool and all, hunched over the upturned utility barrier that we have placed around the electrical and gas pipes in the dog run. For the most part this barrier works to keep the dogs from backing up into the pipes and tubes that are attached to the outside of our house. Not so, when there is a hunt to be had. Max could smell the fear, the presence of a challenge and he’s the hunter in the family. Sometimes defensive fear doesn’t register with him, which adds to his problems (but that is another story). This morning he was Thor the brave, the challenger, Max the Super Newf! What Brad discovered when he ventured out into the dark was a large half mutilated Toad. Max had smelled it, hunted it, and captured his prey, with the swiftness of a gazelle (okay if you believe that one I have a bridge to sell you). I wish I could have witnessed Max’s approach, I bet it would have been more like a three ring circus.

When Brad relayed this story to me it made me start thinking. Maybe some of his tummy troubles were caused by interactions with toads. I don’t think he would have eaten one because their spray causes a really horrible taste to dogs and if they ingest a toad I believe it can kill them but maybe Max caught one and held onto it a little too long and ingested more than his share of the toad spray. There are just so many variables and the vets approach to diagnosing him is expensive and may never identify the root cause if the issues are chronic with episodes of greater irritation. Who knows, maybe this is just our Maxie. One thing is clear. He’s feeling better on the rice, chicken, green bean, and sweet potato diet. He eats his meals without hesitation and he is having “more” normal output. Lab tests are back and there is no evidence of parasites so that is also a positive. I didn’t think that max could have a communicable parasite because he and Beeker are so bonded and Beeker doesn’t have the same symptoms.

I feel like we are slowly moving forward. Now if we could only get a reprieve from the heat and get some much needed rain. My yard and garden are looking deader than normal for August.