You know what it’s like to look into your dog’s dish and realize that he didn’t eat his pill—ugh—that means you have to shove it down his throat. So, you go out on line or search the catalogs to see if there is a chewable form for the meds figuring that this will surely be easier.

A word or warning about “chewable” meds or supplements. They not only TASTE good, they SMELL good, too. Storing this type of product on the counter with the rest of your meds is not going to work—believe me, I found out the hard way. One of my dogs is dead.

I had a new, unopened container of Synovi G-3 (arthritis supplement) on the counter, pushed back with the other meds. Easy for me to dispense when I fixed food each time. Someone (no telling who), sniffed it out and somehow got the container down, chewed it open and shared the booty with five other dogs. It was probably about an hour before I realized that dogs were throwing up all over the house. I called poison control and they said not to worry, they’d all throw up and have diarrhea for a day or two, but there would be no lasting affect.

This was true—five of the dogs spent the night throwing that nasty stuff up. But, for the sixth dog—the one with the severely compromised liver, it was fatal. His liver could not filter the toxins in such large amounts and within two hours, he seizured and went into a coma from which he would not recover.

The product was not at fault. My storage methods were at fault (and have changed, by the way). I now store this type of product high enough that even I have to reach for it AND the cabinet door has a latch.

So, a word of warning about “chewables:” store them high. Some of these dogs will find a way to reach ANYTHING.

Mourning the loss of Ricki, just 2 1/2 years old.