Lucy was a little under the weather. She seemed fine, eating, drinking and playing normally, but last Thursday there was a good deal of blood in a place there shouldn’t be. Once is an accident, twice is a coincidence, and the third time is a sign of a real problem. I got her to the vet Friday and was prescribed metronidazole for a bacterial infection in her intestinal tract.
To help calm her digestive system, I cooked chicken and rice for her and went out to get canned pumpkin to add to the mix. All dog owners know the benefits of pumpkin in their dog’s diet. It firms up what needs firming up and loosens that which is a little too firm.
I went to my neighborhood grocery store and searched the aisles for canned pumpkin. The shelf where it should have been, at the bottom of the baking aisle near the pie fillings, was empty. Dang. I thought I’d might check the baby food aisle. No luck there either. In the end I bought a sweet potato.
When I checked out the cashier asked, “Did you find everything all right?”
I usually just say yes to this question, but this time I mentioned the missing pumpkin. “You’re the second person to say that today,” was her reply.
Sunday, I was in a different neighborhood and decided to pop into the Safeway to see if they had any pumpkin. Not one can. What the heck is going on with pumpkin?
Finally, yesterday, I popped into New Seasons, a local chain similar to Whole Foods. SUCCESS! They had two brands of canned pumpkin. I bought two 20 oz. tins, just in case this was all the pumpkin left in Portland.
Lucy seems to be making progress. She has four more days worth of medication and each day seems to be a little better than the one before. Things are looking up and I am content knowing I have pumpkin in my cupboard, in anticipation of the next digestive disaster.
booksandbassets 
Weird! I suppose it just isn’t the season for pumpkin so the stores aren’t that worried. Hope your puppy is feeing better! 🙂
Poor puppy! Glad you had success finding pumpkin. I never knew its digestive proclivities.
So glad to hear Lucy is on the road to recovery. Are people getting a really head start on Thanksgiving pumpkin pies that cans were scarce? Glad you were able to find some.
Now you have me wondering if there is pumpkin on my store’s shelves. I will have to check this out. Glad Lucy is doing better and you have pumpkin on hand.
I have run into that same pumpkin problem. I have learned to stock up during the holiday season, enough to last me through the next summer and fall. May your pumpkin get Lucy back on her feet quickly. 🙂
I’m glad to hear Lucy is on the mend. It’s hard when our pets or our children get sick. It’s hard to watch and it’s hard to wait for them to feel better.