COOPER'S MEDICINE

Our puppy dog is named Cooper. He is one of the cutest and sweetest puppies that ever lived. This is just the truth. Just because he is our puppy and we love him deeply, does not mean were are, in any way, biased.

However, he does have a few flaws. They are very minor, hardly worth mentioning. He loves tearing up any scrap of paper he finds not in the trash, or in the trash. He occasionally barks (or more accurately yelps) at anyone walking on our road, or anyone he thinks may be walking on our road, or anyone who is thinking of walking on our road. He is afraid of thunder (but not lightning or fireworks for some strange reason) and the rain that comes with thunder, or any rain for that matter, or any water at all. Needless to say, bath time is entertaining.

He is a picky eater, pretty much turning up his nose at any dog food (but likes poaching the cat’s food for some strange reason. He likes chicken, fresh cooked or even canned, if it’s premium breast meat. He likes roast beef and hamburger, and ham in moderation. He likes eggs and most cheese (but has no use for Jarlsburg). He likes peas, with a bit of rice, but usually eats the peas and leaves the rice on the plate, or more usually, on the floor. He likes treats, but only very specific brands. So many bags of puppy treats, so many in the landfill.

Like all dogs, he occasionally succumbs to some puppy malady or other and must visit the vet. He hates going to the vet. He also doesn’t care much for riding in the car, so a trip to the vet, in the car, is pretty much the worst. He didn’t always hate the vet. His first trip there as a pup, they cuddled him and gave him treats and was quite enamored. Then they shoved a thermometer up his butt, stuck him several times with a needle, and cut of his balls. Now, the vet, not so much.

Sometimes when he goes to the vet, he gets medication to take at home. He doesn’t like to take medication, especially when it tastes bad, which it always does. He most recently got an antibiotic that he needs to take twice day. It’s a tiny pill and he only needs to take one half of a pill at a time. It might as well be a golfball, he’s not taking it. We tried grinding it up and mixing it with his chicken. He sorts through all the chicken in case some scrap is untainted, leaving the tainted chicken (oft times all of it) on the plate, or more usually, on the floor. We tried hiding the tiny one half of a pill in a bit of ham or hamburger. He somehow manages to eat all the ham or hamburger and spit out the pill, not even wet.

I’m proud to say, however, that we have figured out how to get him to take his pill. We use a clever ploy to deceive him into thinking it is just food. We take the one half pill and embed it in a dollop of cream cheese. We then roll up the dollop of cream cheese, with a few peas and bacon bits in a thin slice of chicken breast. We then lightly season the chicken roll and saute it in cream and butter sauce until it is slightly brown and crispy. When served with a bit of cat food on the side, he eats it right up.