I’ve been very worried ever since we’ve come back from our wonderful vacation at Sequim, WA. 

We were cooking dinner, which included a couple of steaks, brussel sprouts and something else I can’t remember, when all of a sudden my friend picked up the Styrofoam backing of the steaks from the middle of the living room and we noticed there were teeth marks on the container. But there was not one of those pads that are included in store bought meat. I guess they are called meat absorbent pads. It was missing. We couldn’t find it anywhere.

I first do not know how she got a hold of the empty package anyway, for she is not one to really forage for things of that sort, especially in the trash. She’s exceptionally good at not doing that.

But I guess I was wrong for I was informed the package, along with the meat pad was thrown into the garbage can, which happened to be out in the middle of the kitchen.  

Charley must have gotten into the trash and pulled out the container, and swallowed the pad for we could not find it at all after a very fruitful and extensive search throughout the house. 

My friend informed me that if she had we have to take her to the hospital right away because the pad could obstruct her digestive track and lead to some serious consequences. Plus, looking on the internet filled my fear on what could happen to a dog in similar situations. I read it can block the track, fully obstructing the intestines and causing blockage that will kill them in the end without proper extensive care. Usually this does not happen within the first day or so. It usually will take about 3 days.

But I was able to read some not so daunting posts about this situation, which I realized has happened to other pet owners. That was somewhat of a relief, for I felt I was not alone in this boat of hysteria I was feeling. 

I needed to watch for signs of vomiting, despondency, and the inability to poop. Also look for drooling, and panting and just not quite acting ok. 

So these last few days I’ve been diligently watching her every move, getting freaked out any time she seems “off”, and watching her bowel movements to see if a little black pad will come out of her rear. 

I so far have not found anything amiss. She’s been eating fine, as well as pooping a lot, for I was also told to feed her several little meals throughout the day to get her track moving. 

I’m not sure what happened to the absorbent meat pad. It never has reappeared. I’m starting to wonder if she ate it at all and we just happened to miss it somewhere. I’d like to think that. 

But I will keep looking! Silly sneaky girl!

I will be keeping a good eye from now on when I decide to buy a steak, or chicken with one of those pads in it. Dogs seem to love them, but they can be very harmful to them. I prefer not to panic again like I did at this little episode.