My dog 's temporary lapse of reason.

I remember this whole story vividly, as if it were yesterday. We had just brought our first child, a girl, home from the hospital.

Our dog, Kera, Had sensed something was up even before my arrival home, due to the cleaning, the new things being brought into the house, but mostly, of course, due to my absence.

My husband tells me that during this time, Kera could often be found sitting crying at the window.She missed me terribly, as we were always very close.

On the day of my return, Kera was displaying more excitement than I had ever seen. She was literally bouncing off the walls.
Then we brought the baby in!

Kera looked confused, as she had never actually seen one of them in the house. She timidly walked over to the baby, and we, being overprotective first time parents, shooed her away.

She looked at us, and I was sure I could see jelousy in her expression. She made several other attempts to get close to the strange being, but was told off firmly each time. She sulked off resentfully. Little did we know that this was only the start of her campaign!

The remainder of that first day home, Kera kept a fairly low profile, occasionaly glancing up at us miserably, then whimpering and laying her head down again. The truth is, we hardly took any notice of her. This was our biggest mistake!

When we awoke the next morning, nothing could have prepared us for the sight that awaited us in the living room. As we entered, our mouths dropped open and I let out a gasp!
The toybucket in the corner had been over turned, and many of the stuffed animals and soft rag dolls we had been given for the baby were mutilated, damaged, and literally chewed to shreds! Kera made eye contact with us, made an indignant HMPH! sound, then scampered off.

My husband looked over at me, completely dumbfounded. Then all hell broke loose.
As he screamed at Kera, she made a short startled noise, then bolted off with Ray in hot pursuit.
"If that's how it's going to be, you can leave right now!", he yelled after her as she dove under the bed to escape his rage.

Later in the day, we decided a drive would calm our frazzled nerves, so we all headed out for a short time. Feeling much better, we entered the house. The plastic wheel on the new, $300.00 stroller we had bought was chewed up, and some of the fabric had also been ripped off. Needless to say, we had another bad episode.

This pattern of escalating destruction continued for several days, and we had been so preoccupied with it that it was only late on my fourth day home that we realized we hadn't had to feed Kera, the food in her bowl was still there since we brought the baby home! Kera had not eaten in four days. It was definatly time to call the Vet...

We were blessed with a vet who made house calls, and she arrived early the next morning. She accepted a cup of coffee, then sat down at the kitchen table and asked what was wrong. We recounted the events of the past few days. When we were finished, she told us Kera may grow out of this new anxiety, once she grows more accustomed to the new baby, or we may end up with a big problem on our hands. "If worst comes to worst, we will put her on medication for anxiety and depression", she told us. I could hardly believe what I was hearing! Now, on top of everything else, I was going to have a dog on anti-depressants. It was all too much! "Call again if she doesn't eat by Friday", she said.Then she left.

It had always been our routine to let Kera out unleashed for a pee in the yard. She never vetured off, just waited on the porch for us to let her back in. This night we were sleep deprived, and were just heading off to bed after a late night baby feeding, when Ray asked me if I had let Kera in. I had no idea. I went to the porch. I called for her . No response. I called loudly through the house. No response. I slipped on shoes. I looked out front. I looked out back. I callled her up and down the street. Nothing.
I came back in and told Ray to get the baby ready. We were going to look for Kera in the neighbourhood.
We were both starting to panic...

As we drove around town calling Kera through the window, we talked about how much we loved her. We talked about how devastated we would be if anything had happened to her. We agreed that if we found her, we would let her get closer to the baby, and trust her more.
At one point, while we were looking, a police officer heard us calling up the street, and pulled over to ask what the problem was. When we explained the situation she said she would keep an eye out, and also radio all the other units to do the same. "Just call us if she turns up, so we are not wasting our time," she told us. We said thanks, we would, and kept looking.

After a long time with no luck we returned home. I was hoping Kera would have turned up, and be waiting in the yard, but it wasn't to be.
Feeling defeated I headed for the bathroom for a hot bath. I opened the door. There she was!
She was weak from hunger, but there she was. She had not wanted to answer when we had called her. Probably thought she was in big trouble again! Every time we called her lately, that was the case. I was yelping with joy as Ray came running in. I have never seen a man so happy to see an animal!
I called the police, and said Kera had turned up. No way was I going to say She was behind the bathroom door the whole time! They would have me commited!
We took Kera out to the living room and told her to say hello to the new baby. Kera licked the baby's face with affection.
Kera started eating again, and regained her health quickly.
We retell this story to friends often, while Kera is happily playing with the kids. She is a loving and patient pet.
Every time we tell the story, we always refer to it as the time Kera went on a hunger strike until she could lick the baby!!

This is a true story!