Good to Know!

This past Sunday we went to a Cookout at some friends' house and they had water balloons for the kids, which were a huge hit! My little 5 year old daughter, being the treasure (trash) collector that she is, gathered up several of the brightly colored deflated, popped balloons and smuggled them home tightly clinched in her little fist.

My husband and I had no idea the deflated balloons had come home with us, much less made it into the house. We gave the kids a snack and sat down to rest for a few minutes from the heat and activity of the outdoor party before attempting the bedtime process for our kids. Then we heard our 5 year old shrieking and the dog coughing a bit. "Madeline (the puppy) swallowed the orange balloon!" the kids were yelling.

Of course we were confused, "What orange balloon?" But, once we figured it out we were worried because we'd heard deflated balloons could be very dangerous for dogs as they can cause blockages in their internal organs. I stuck my hand down the puppy's throat. My husband stuck his hand down the puppy's throat. No luck!

We debated taking her to the emergency vet or waiting it out to see if she just passed it through. Then my husband said, "I'm going to go try to get her to throw-up," and he took her outside. He came back in very quickly and was like, "How do you make a dog throw-up?"

Me: "I have no idea I thought you knew since you suggested it."

But The Internet saved the day!

He Googled the topic and found out you should measure out 1/4 cup of hydrogen peroxide, have one person hold the dog's head tightly so her mouth is pointed up, and have another person squeeze the hydrogen peroxide as far down the throat as possible with a turkey baster. It said the dog should throw up within a minute.

So we did it, turkey baster and all!

We estimated only about one-tenth of the hydrogen peroxide went down her throat, the rest was slung out all over us. But, lo and behold about 2 minutes later SHE THREW UP!!

And there was the deflated orange balloon amid some dog food kernels and a whole acorn (would that have passed all the way through? Not sure.)!

Too much information?

Dog owners, take note, you just never know when this information may come in handy!

Likely saved us thousands of dollars at the emergency vet!!

P.S. After using this technique go ahead and keep the dog outside for a while. Let's just say the vomiting isn't limited to a single instance before it's over.

And a lesson for the darling 5 year old in our home: Trash goes in the trash can and, "Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal." Matt 6:20 and where puppies do not eat it!!!!

Thankful this is a story we can laugh about now!

Find more Thankful Thursday here.