Lesson learned

Yesterday our dog, Belle, learned that chewing on clothes pins is a bad idea.

She timidly approached me with a gnawed up piece of plastic dangling from the right side of her mouth. On closer inspection, I saw it was securely wedged somewhere in her jaw. I said, "What did you do!" And she looked up at me with embarrassment and shame as if to say, "I know I was a bad dog, but please help me!" She nestled up against my leg, then slid to the floor and rolled on her back in the most pathetic way. So I pried open her mouth and saw that there was a tangled mass of plastic, saliva, and wire but I couldn't tell where it was stuck. I tried pulling it out, but it would not budge. I was nervous the wire was piercing her gums so I didn't want to yank too hard. And since the plastic was pink, it was hard to tell where the clothes pin ended and where Belle's mouth began.

Belle began pawing at the clothes pin in desperation and the other dogs began to circle around the scene with excitement, thinking this was a new game. I moved Belle into the kitchen, away from the dogs, who were now trying to snatch the clothes pin from her mouth. After several more attempts, I called Michael. He left work to tend to his mischievous dog, who was probably mortified at the prospect of living with a clothes pin hanging out of her mouth. When he arrived, Belle once again fell into the "please forgive me" position on the floor. He dug around her mouth, got a good grip, and ripped the mangled mess from her mouth. The sound brought shivers down my spine, but apparently no harm was done. The wire had somehow got wrapped around her teeth, but Michael was able to pull it out. The crisis was averted.

Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of the ordeal - although, it was a sight to behold. Here's the remains of the clothes pin. I'm certain the rest is currently on its way through Belle's system.