The Nico Series- The Portulaca Caper

Here are my two "monkeys"



Bella on the left joined in on the fun.

It was a beautiful sunny day with cool breezes on my deck.  Having a few errands to run, I allowed the puppies to play outside.  When I came home, a few hours later I was shocked to see a 24" flower pot emptied of it's dirt and stones....and about 15 portulaca plants. The roots of my morning glory plant....which was lush and beautiful....were completely obliterated.

Nico....the ringleader has eaten bits of portulaca before.  But this was ridiculous.  I couldn't tell who ate what....but I knew the plants were eaten because they weren't on the deck.  I knew the dirt was eaten and to my surprise....some of the stones were eaten.

Immediately I called the poison control center from animals.  Portulaca eaten in this amount can cause crystals in the kidney and ultimately kidney failure.  I found a vet who could see them right away and they were given hydrogen peroxide to induce vomiting. Unfortunately, by this time, a lot of junk had gotten into their system.  Blood tests followed to get a baseline on their kidney function. They spent the night in the hospital while being checked in the middle of the night.

Bottom line....all is well...but it was scary.  In order for the dogs to get to this flower pot they had to jump onto a chaise, up to a bar stool, up to a very high table and a leap across to the flower pot.  They are not dogs....they are monkeys. As of this moment, they are all enrolled in reform school.