A Chocoholic Dog

Not too long ago, I was approached by an author to write up a few little things to feature in an upcoming book. (Be looking for the promo on my site in the fall!)
One little story of mine she found particularly amusing about my Labrador "Evie", so I thought it would be nice to share it with you all:

A Chocoholic Dog

Shortly after I met my husband we celebrated my birthday. The first thing that he found out about me was my love for coffee followed my by love for chocolate. Being an insightful man, he bought me a box of dark chocolate covered espresso beans. I like to say it was then that I knew I was going to marry him.

At that time I had 2 Labrador retrievers, one yellow (Evie) and one Black (Jewel). Evie has always had a particular knack for getting herself into trouble. She got lost one time for nearly a day- come to find out she had chased a squirrel under the back porch and gotten stuck. The time she and Jewel got out of the back yard she convinced Jewel to cross a busy road- resulting in a broken leg for Jewel. And she has always been the one to grab food off the counter when no one is looking… including chocolate.

It is common knowledge that chocolate is not good for dogs. It can make them very sick, and in some cases, kill them. Not Evie… She has consumed chocolate on several occasions with no reaction. She is a special dog.

Now, after I had received the dark chocolate covered espresso beans, I put them in a “safe” place in my room to enjoy occasionally.

The very next day, I returned home from work, went to my room to change, and there on my floor was the box of chocolately beans… empty!

I screamed “Oh no!” and with that Evie was hiding under the bed looking ever so guilty. Even though she had gotten into chocolate before, I was worried this time. The whole box was gone (It was a good sized box) and this time it was a mixture of dark chocolate (Lots of cocoa) and espresso beans.

I watched her so closely. She didn’t show any signs of discomfort… she didn’t even get sick. She did however show an amusing display for the next 24 hours. Usually she is very laidback follows me coming to rest in whatever room I decide to stay in for the time being. Though, after her binge on chocolately espresso, she just ran around the house in short spurts at top speed. Then she would lie down, pant like crazy, recover, and just when you thought she had calmed down, she would do it all over again. She drank water like she hadn’t had any in days. She was incredibly hyper and energetic. I had never seen her quite that animated before or since the incident.

She was normal after that day, but now whenever I buy chocolate covered espresso beans, I’m sure to hide them in a more dog resistant spot… above the fridge.