Even Dogs Aren't Immune

I screamed so loudly that the guy wallpapering my house opened the front door to see what happened. 

I ran with my shaking dog over to where he was standing on my front porch and together we inspected her for blood. Turns out retired fire fighters turned wallpaper installers are good for emergencies. 

One minute earlier, the neighbor's dog came out of their yard into the street and attacked our dog. 

After we spotted a wound, I called the vet. 

Two minutes later, we loaded the still shaking dog into the car. 

Twenty-five minutes later we arrived at the vet's office. 

As I held our shaking puppy and paced the waiting room, I noticed a sign. 

In big bold letters, it said "Did you know that 50% of dogs are OVERWEIGHT?"

Ugh. Even the dogs aren't immune to the constant bombardment of weight loss. Thank god dogs can't read, use social media, read magazines or watch TV, but too bad their owners can. I'm all for taking great care of dogs, but I think animals are pretty in touch with their internal hunger cues. Maybe dog owners are unknowingly putting their dogs on diets by limiting their food or the amount of times they get food per day. Remember that restriction of any kind will eventually lead to eating more than a human (or animal) would normally eat. 

This got me thinking about an animated cartoon created by ASDAH (Association for Size Diversity and Health) called The Problem With Poodle Science.

The takeaway here is all dogs come in different shapes and sizes and no matter how much you starve a Mastiff, it will never become a Poodle or enjoy their same life span. Certain dogs are meant to be a certain size and starving a dog to make it look like anything other than it just doesn't make sense. 

This applies for humans, too. 

After four more trips to the vet, stitches, a drain tube and antibiotics for an infection, she's much better. 

Two minutes ago, our daughter was chasing the dog around the living room screaming with joy. 

Add a little more joy to your life this holiday season by letting yourself enjoy whatever you desire.