Pet Niche – Writing Prompt

The first time this happened to me, I frantically called the vet. He calmly asked, “How much does the dog weigh?” and “How much did she eat?” Then he said, again calmly, “Don’t worry about it; she’ll be fine.” The second time I had my friend’s dog as a house guest. She ate some mouse poison and I didn’t see how much she ate. I rather calmly called the vet, expecting the same reaction as before. To my surprise, he said to take her immediately to the hospital. We jumped in the car and ran down to U. of PA Vet Hospital which is very close to my house. They fed her activated charcoal – turned the little white dog’s face black until I could bathe her – and kept her in ‘intensive care’ which was just a plexiglass box through which they could observe her. I asked why the extreme treatment in the second instance and they told me the formula of the mouse poison had changed and been made much more lethal. So be careful with your dogs.