Let them eat...ROCKS?

After dancing, well, gyrating the night away with my good friend the other night, I was exhausted come bedtime last night. I figured I would catch up on my sleep by getting to bed early, then sleeping in a bit if my body deemed it necessary. Well, I'm not sure if my body wanted more sleep, but Jax was sure to cut it short regardless.

If you have kids you birthed, not just fur babies, you probably know the dreaded sound of your baby in a nearby bedroom coughing all night - that cough that sounds like it began in the very depths of your baby's small body. That cough that just sounds like it is wearing the child down by the sheer force of it. Well, this morning before the sun even came up my beloved Jax was in his kennel heaving at least four times that I heard. Waking up to that sound is not pretty. Once my mind realized what it was - Jax probably puking ALL OVER his blankets and the stuffed penguin he likes to sleep with - I got up to assess the damage.

I held my breath as I peeked under the sheet covering Jax's kennel only to find that happy little face there to greet me. After coercing him to get out of what I assumed was now a like a scene from "The Exorcist", I was pleased to see just a small amount of puke in the space in front of all of Jax's blankets and his toy. Figuring it a good time to get Jax OUT before another heaving session started, I whisked him to the backyard and made sure to leave him some water while I went back to clean up after him.

What I cleaned up was most annoying to me. Thankful there was only a little regurgitated from his tiny belly, I was surely ticked that what he did get up was a couple of small ROCKS. Now, I'm the kind of fur Mommy who finds value in nutrition - even for the fur baby. So I take pride in selecting the best possible food for Jax. And I'm sure there are much cheaper ways for me to go about feeding him, but at least for his first year I hope to keep Jax on a quality holistic food.  Imagine my dismay when said puppy has been dining on, of all things, ROCKS from our backyard.

"Well why bother paying good money for food when YOU wanna eat ROCKS!?" I said, out loud, to a Jax who was not even present.

My crack of dawn lesson was this: Jax has made it abundantly clear that he MUST be watched - AT ALL TIMES - when he's inside.  Today I learned that my fur baby must be watched - AT ALL TIMES - wherever he may be, including what I assumed was some fun, safe, exploring time for him in our yard.  Thankfully the lesson didn't require a vet visit - he's eating, drinking, playing, and pooping just fine at this point. So at least this lesson didn't come at the expense of Jax requiring surgery for a blocked intestine or worse. Puppies surely require far more monitoring than babies do because, well, at least babies stay where you put them. This little puppy of ours? Not so much!