By Judy Reiss
I know I have told you about Santa Claus and how he has been helped over the years by friends and acquaintances of mine. What I have never done is discussed the Easter Bunny. Although this isn’t really about this famous bunny, it is darn close!
My best friend lives in Maine and although that is really quite far from the Valley, we talk almost every day. And I should mention that we have been “best” friends for well over 50 years. And I have to share with you that she was and is the nicest and kindest person I know. But I also want to share with you that she is also just a little nuts! And I can tell you this because she is also the Godmother to one of my children, has cared for both my children and my grandchildren and always was exceptionally good! In fact, she makes me look like Cruella de Ville!
Now, Bamse might be smart but not as smart as his adoring companion. When she took him out for a walk, she would never menton the delicious eggs that were left by some clever bunny, but when they were passing the spot where one was, she allowed him to find the treat and wolf it down before she told him not to. And they say dogs are smarter than their humans!
Now, before I tell you what she did, let me tell you that she always has him on a leash but regardless, he loves to eat whatever he thinks looks delicious when they go for a walk. So, here is what she did. And you have to picture this…So, here is my story of today about Birgit and I swear to you every single word is true! Unfortunately, she lost her husband Alan 3-plus years ago. But prior to his death I was worried what she would do when he was gone and she agreed that perhaps a dog would be a good thing. So I talked to a friend in the Valley about a Pug. And miracle of miracles, our local veterinarian had two Pug puppies for rescue, so I went down and looked at them and “rescued” the little male. We took him to Gorham, N.H. where we met Birgit and her daughter, Caitlin and I thought that miracle was complete. But even I had no idea what a wonderful match it would be. And Birgit and Bamse have been inseparable ever since. But why the Easter Bunny? Let me explain…
This spring, Bamse had a stomach problem and had to go to the doctor and the doctor said he had to refrain from eating any “people” food for at least 10 days. Which if you knew him and knew Birgit you would know that is an eternity! But he also had to take a pill twice day for 10 days! Now, I don’t know about you, but pill giving in my house never goes well and it seems that it didn’t go well with Bamse either! Regardless of what she did he would spit the pill out. She tried mixing it with his food and of course, he ate all his food but managed to spit the pill out when he was done. She tried ramming the pill down his throat and not only did he hate that technique, so did she and it was then that the Easter Bunny gave her an idea. Are you ready?
First, she would take one of the blond or white Oreo cookies and scrap the filling out. And once she had a glob of delicious sweet stuff, she would make a little egg out of part of it. Now Bamse would not take this as he usually would because he knew that she was hiding the pill inside, so she would wait until he was asleep or his back was turned, creep downstairs and go outside. Once outside, she would take the delicious “egg” and place it on a little piece of the cookie and put the entire treat on a rock, once on one of her steps, and of course, somewhere in the leaves or whatever around the house.
I did tell her that was the funniest thing I had ever heard and she didn’t disagree but she did remind me that this technique worked for 10 days and Bamse still thought he was putting one over on her!
When I told her that I was going to write about the Pugbunny and how he came and left medicinal treats for her extraordinarily spoiled pug around her property, she reminded me that he got all his medication with nary a whimper! And she was right. In fact, I am planning to use the same technique with a few alterations to get my Victor (the cat) to take pills because as of yet, we haven’t found any way to get him to take one. I don’t think an Oreo would tempt him but the idea of thinking of some special treat and then hiding it in the kitchen or the family room, just might work!
If you are going to try the Bunny method of giving your loved one his or her medications, go for it. And just make sure you remember that most of our pets are a lot smarter than we are, so you have to be quiet and very wily! But if you dog or cat is just stupid, you are one of the luckiest humans I know.