An Expensive Treat

Thursday afternoon the kids and I were enjoying the air conditioner and watching a movie in my bed. About half way through the movie, Adia and Ella asked, (as my girls do from time to time) to try on my wedding ring. I obliged, and it was a sweet moment watching them pass it back and forth and showing me. Then I sort of forgot about it and was back into the movie. At the end of the movie, I realized my ring was not on my finger! I franticly searched the blankets and sheets. Then even more franticly searched under and all around my bed and room. Pat had arrived home from work, so I begrudgingly told him my ring was lost. He was none too thrilled. We searched for hours. It vanished. I bawled on my bedroom floor.

Then a thought occurred to me. Spike and Winston were on the bed, too, and Spike and Ella were playing. She loves to feed him. Was it possible she FED him my WEDDING RING?

Our neighbors happen to walk over as we were brain storming, and suggested we use his friends metal detector to scan Spike. So, the guys rode off to collect the metal detector while we searched my room once more. When they returned, Pat held Spike up and we scanned his belly. BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! There was something in there all right, but what? I was cautiously optimistic that Ella had indeed fed Spike my ring, and it could still be found. We scanned Ella's belly, too, for good measure, but she did not "beep".

Today I took Spike into the Vet to get an x-ray. Our suspicions were confirmed when we saw not only my wedding ring, but also a hair clip, and what we would learn later was a half of a tennis ball up on the lighted screen!

Our vet said it was still in his stomach, and he recommended inducing vomiting so Spike wouldn't risk having any bowel obstructions later. I felt bad for our poor puppy, but it was the best thing for him. Up came my ring, the hair clip, the half tennis ball, and a rock. Turns out Spike may be part billy goat! I thanked everyone for their help, and took Spike-a-Dilly home to rest. He is back to his playful self, and my ring is back on my finger!