As adorable as Bentley is, I was having a hard time letting him approach the special place that Murphy had occupied in my life. I knew there was no “replacing” Murphy and that wasn’t what I had been hoping for. Two Saturdays ago, I arrived home from a shopping trip to find that, in Mary Beth’s absence and mine, Bentley managed to get through the baby gate to Mary Beth’s room and discovered the spot where she was storing presents. Among those was a chocolate bar. I had no idea how much was left but he finished what was there. As you may notice from his belly hanging to the ground in this shot from a few weeks after he joined us, food is his main motivator…so much so that he had also eaten most of the wrapper. I called the vet and took him right over to vomit it out and be treated with charcoal to help remove the toxins. When I was finally able to reach Mary Beth it turned out there had been two bars. I notified the vet and she said it had the potential to be lethal and to pick him up and take Bentley to the emergency vet. We were so fortunate that I had not been photographing that day and got home two hours earlier than usual. He recovered nicely and whatever chocolate we have, along with raisins, is now stored in the basement (he is not able to get down there) behind a closed door.
The point of this being that the experience of almost losing him has opened the door to acceptance much wider and we realize how much we have grown to love him. We weren’t happy with the $1000 lesson, but that was secondary to making sure he survived and recovered. He’s totally our dog now.
Stephen Gingold Nature Photography Blog 
glad bentley is Ok!
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Thank you, Rob.
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Ah chocolate. We had a pekinese who loved chocolate. Unwrapped and ate a layer of chocolates one Christmas. We didn’t know it was toxic then. But Ming survived to polish off the dregs from liqueur glasses! So happy the misadventure of Bentley turned out well and it opened that very special door.
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Ming was obviously a typical dog with an iron stomach. 🙂 Thanks, Rod.
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So happy that Bentley is okay.
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Thank you.
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We have had three sets of dogs who have lived with us for 15 years each. Each one is special and cannot be replaced as you found with Bentley. I love meeting people who are good to their four footed friends.
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Thank you. Bentley is our fourth. We had Cassie until she was 15, Dixie until she was ten and Murphy survived to a guesstimated sixteen. They all have special spots.
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Ah that Bentley. I knew it would take time for you to bond with the little tub and I’m sorry it had to cost 1k but no matter. Hard lesson learned too. Tubby dogs and even those that are not tubby will find food to eat. He is a sweetheart for sure and a very handsome dog. I am so glad that you got home early.
The thing about getting a new dog is that it will never replace that special place in your heart that is reserved for all the other dogs that you and Mary Beth have owned. I find that to be true evert time I lose a dog and another one enters my life. It takes me a long time to become really attached to a new one. I love them but it is a different kind of love until one day something clicks. It’s very odd. Just can’t really explain it.
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Yes, he is a bit of a troublemaker, but a cute one for sure. He’s no longer a tub as we have trimmed him down by about 10 pounds since his arrival at 44 or so. We’d like to have him around 30 at some point. That’s on hold for now as the weather has been too cold for the four or five a days and even the few that we do take are just long enough for him to do what’s necessary before he gets cold and wants to get back in the house and under the covers.I am sure once warmer weather arrives he’ll be quite eager for the long walks again.
We waited a year before adopting another after losing Murph. Even after that time it was hard but getting easier by the day. Some people are able to accept another almost over night. That doesn’t work for us.
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I am sorry I called him tubby but knew that he had lost weight -just didn’t know how much. It is easy for some folks to get another pet and I can identify with how you feel about taking another. It is difficult and I admit that I would find it hard for me to get a pet soon after I lost an only dog or cat. But I have a passel of pets and have others that I love when I lose one. It is very different for me but few folks are in my shoes. I do grieve for those that I was very close to and had for many years. Those pets stay on mind every day.
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No biggie. He is tubby in the picture and still has a few extra bits of beagle around his shoulders and hips.
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🙂 🙂 🙂
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Oh dear! Expensive chocolate but I am so glad Bentley is okay. I haven’t been in your position yet, welcoming a new dog after the death of an old one. But animals certainly have a way of creeping into your heart whether you want them to or not.
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He’s an adorable little guy…getting littler all the time…and we certainly did want him.What made it a bit more difficult were some habits…continuing in some cases…we never had to deal with with our other dogs…cabinet breaking and entering, soiling the carpets and some growling when playing. In addition to the above, he opened our mini-fridge and polished off almost an entire bag of prunes. Good times for a few days of picking up after him on our walks. The fridge now had a lock. 🙂
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Lucky Bentley. He wolfed down the chocolate, cost you a small fortune and won your heart. It seems that chocolate really is the answer for everything 🤗 Steve, he does have a wonderful expression on his face. It’s like a permanent frown line – I wonder if he’s worrying about where the next tasty snack is coming from?Colin is just the same. He’d eat for the whole of Spain given half a chance
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Your description of Colin’s eating habit pretty much fits a beagle to a ‘T’. I’ve known owners of other breeds who would just leave a bag of food on the floor and the dog would eat as need be. A beagle, and probably Colin as well, would eat until bursting. You are right. He is always wondering when the next bite is coming.
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He is gorgeous and I am glad he is all right. Our Border Collie raided our kitchen bin not so long ago, tipped it over and gobbled up the scraps. I was lucky to find a new bin with a pet lock on it, so now when there is something that may tempt him I put the lock on.
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We knew about his raiding habits so had locks on the cabinets and heavy stuff blocking others that couldn’t be locked. But he’s pretty clever and found the weak spots. Only once though. Thanks, Karen.
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Prunes? Goodness. I thought dogs like bones and sausages and strange things in the grass. I did once know a dog that ate plastic flower pots, and one that insisted on downing the cats’ food, but it sounds like Bentley’s an appetite on four legs. I’m so glad he’s all right.
Apparently cats favor chocolate, too, and also suffer from it so it always stays “up” around here. The strange thing about my cat is that she won’t eat human food. No salmon, chicken, beef, or egg for her. It’s Science Diet or nothing. On the other hand, she can’t be trusted with African violet leaves. So strange.
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An appetite on four legs is an apt description of a beagle. Nose on four legs works as well. About the only thing Murphy wouldn’t eat was raw mushrooms. I suspect the same will prove true for Bentley.
Funny about the African Violet leaves. But cats are known for being notoriously picky so the preference for Science Diet and nothing else isn’t too surprising.
Bentley gets teed off when we leave him alone, which is surprising since he was left alone for 12 hours a day before coming to us. He does little things to show us his upset. Mostly getting into the waste baskets, but sometimes he’ll pee or poop in the dining room…even within minutes of going out. The other day, just after walking him, Mary Beth was doing some ironing in the basement and I went out to take advantage of the warm weather and do a clean up scrape of the snow and ice. Bentley didn’t like that much. Not sure how we will break him of the habit.
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So much for the oft-repeated claim that animals know what things they need to eat.
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That is pretty much true in the wild. Domesticated beagles are too far removed, I think.
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Mr. B. is one lucky canine, to be sure … he’s fortunate that you quickly noticed what had occurred. You were also fortunate to have access to good veterinary support close by.
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Aside from the chocolate and the money, it was all good. One has to be thankful for the services people provide.
I hope you are, or are just about, in your home now.
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Thank goodness he survived the experience. I’ve noticed that in my life as well, that the blessings somehow need to come via difficult experiences to unfold. Like a butterfly in a chrysalis, I guess.
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Truth. We take so much for granted that sometimes it does take an unfortunate experience to open our eyes…or, in this case, hearts.
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