Post 4.12 - The Mystery Ailment

Our youngest dog, Buddy, aka Mouth-with-Feet, is a terrier mix of boundless energy. He goes from 0 to 60 in 2.3 seconds, is always eager to eat (his food or yours), and is always up for attention of any kind.

Needless to say, when his behavior changed, it was frightening. His attitude toward food became oh fine, if you insist, which was probably the most disturbing.

After a number of standard tests, the vet couldn't find anything wrong. But we may have discovered the culprit.

A scorpion.

Buddy has a strong prey drive, as most terriers do -- he'll chase just about anything, dig for things, and he's even more intent if his target is smaller than he is. And when it comes to insects or arachnids, he eats them. We will frequently find him staring at something only to discover it to be a moth, a multi-legged insect, or most recently, a scorpion.

Even if a scorpion doesn't manage to sting, there is still venom contained within its tail. So our guess is, he successfully attacked and killed a scorpion, only for the creature to have the last laugh.

Buddy is fine now. It took a day or two for his system to go back to normal, but he's as insane as ever.

Have a question or a suggestion for a future topic? E-mail me at facetsblog@gmail.com.

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