The Family Gourmet

 The Gourmet in the Family

It may surprise you that the gourmet in our family is not me, but Maggy, our 16 year old beagle. 

This happened quite subtly over time. After years of eating the same old dog  kibble, she looked at her bowl in disgust. At least, it seemed like disgust. It turned out to be  one of the first symptoms of a life threatening disease called Addison’s Disease. Addison’s Disease is a hormone disorder in which a dog’s adrenal glands don’t make enough cortisol to respond to stress, maintain electrolyte balance, and regulate blood sugar and hydration.  The same disease can occur in humans. One of the most famous victims was president John F Kennedy. 

The vets did not diagnose Maggy’s condition for a long time because she did not fit the profile of an Addison dog, mainly  due to her age. We finally brought her to Dove Lewis Animal Hospital in Portland when she went into crisis. On the way to the hospital, I did not think she would make it. I thought for sure I would be told, sorry, lady, you’ve got an old dog. After a series of tests, the kind Dove Lewis vet,  sat with us and explained Maggy’s condition. The good news is that Addison’s Disease is easily treated with steroids and most dogs go on to live happy healthy lives. So be it. Maggy is now 16. We saved her life two years ago. 

Maggy spent two nights in the hospital. We visited her as soon as possible. The vet tech told us that Maggy found hospital food bland so they introduced her to Costco canned chicken. It was love at first bite. Maggy barely acknowledged us and clung to the purveyor of her new love,  canned chicken.  I immediately joined Costco and stocked up. Maggy had lost seven pounds which is enormous for a dog. Since then,  she consistently consumes her chicken, but in the last year or so is fussy about her kibble. We alternate different brands and sprinkle delicious toppings from Trader Joe’s dog treat section. Maggy must take steroids to live. Hiding them in a bit of cream cheese was working, but then a new pickiness set in when she rejected everything we stock in our fridge. What to do? We tried goat cheese, liverwurst, hot dogs and peanut butter. She would be okay with one of these selections for a while then pouf turn up her beagle nose at them. There were days in which we could not get her to take her meds at all. Very distressing. Then I read about the “rule of three” as I call it. Three pieces of hot dog for example. The first without meds, the second with meds, and the third without.  Amazingly, this works at least for now. Fingers crossed, we won’t need to upgrade to French pate and caviar.

Recent photo of the Gourmet this Halloween Season