This happened to me one night!

It was past midnight.... I had to go to my lab to take care of a small experiment. I had just finished watching Monday Night Football although I don't quite remember which teams played that night. I went to the lab and finished my experiments and came back home a litter after 2 am. Brandy was fast asleep in my bed. He looked very tired.




I tried to sleep but had a tough time getting any sleep. So I thought I will watch TV for some time until I feel sleepy. I went into the dark living room and found the remote lying on the floor. I tried to turn the TV on but I couldnt. I turned the lights on and was amazed at what I saw.

What was a fully functional remote an hour ago was now reduced to half. I gazed at it for a minute and soon realized what my Vet said during Brandy's first visit - ' Labrador's eat almost anything '. What I didn't know was that anything included unsavory electronics. Surprisingly, Brandy showed no signs of discomfort. He was peacefully sleeping in my bed.

I scrambled to find my Vet's number. Luckily Brandy's hospital has a 24 hour emergency service. I called up the Vet and explained what i think had happened---

Me : Hallo Ma'M. You must remember Brandy.. Well, I think he just ate my remote.

Doctor : What do you mean ? Did he chew on the remote ?

Me : No, I think he has swallowed a big chunk of the TV remote

After some umm... and ahh's..

Doctor : Well, what is Brandy doing now ?

Me : He is sleeping as if nothing has happened.

Doctor : Okay, wake him up and them forcefeed him with about half a pound of wheat bread. He should be fine by tomorrow morning. If he shows any sign of discomfort, then bring him in and I will take a look.. One more thing, did he swallow the batteries.

I rushed back into the living room to see that the batteries were untouched.

Me : No, he didnt get to the batteries.

Doctor : That's a relief. Just feed him bread and call me back in the morning.

So I woke Brandy up and then fed him all the bread I had. I think he was confused at my generosity but he ate everything anyway. After he dozed off again, I went to the living room to check for any bits and pieces of the remote. I found nothing...

I tried to watch Brandy but soon fell asleep. I got up in the morning and took Brandy to the backyard. Almost immediately he did the usual 'circling around' in the grass and pooped. Curiously, I looked at the poop to kind the pieced of the remote that were missing- green circuit board, few pieces of wire, gray and black plastic.. all accounted for. When I told the Vet what I saw, she said that dogs cannot digest wheat bread. And any sharp pieces of remote that brandy ate would mix with the bread and pass through his intestine without harming the walls.

So.. wheat bread saved the day for me. And now I understand and respect the potential of the recycling machine that lives with me.. Brandy.. my soon to be two year old.. adorable black lab.