The Sensitive Tummy

The Sensitive Tummy

Since Lance Armstrong’s first success in the Tour de France he has constantly denied allegations of using performance-enhancing drugs. A close second to Lance in the category of denying allegations is the persistent denial of my mother that she never fed Bailey table food.

Bailey was fortunate to be in good health throughout his life—at least until the very end. Bailey’s only condition was an extremely sensitive stomach. If he ate anything other than his own food and Milk Bones, one of us would be cleaning up his mess at 3:00 am. Although these late night “clean-up” sessions were often torturous, Bailey’s delicate tummy was actually a blessing. Because his diet was limited, Bailey avoided the weight problems that labs often face. As a result, we got to spend 13 wonderful years together.

On visits to my parents house Bailey would follow my mother around as if she was wearing lamb-chop boxer shorts. Never was Bailey closer to my mother than when she was in the kitchen. He would sit right beside her and let out several high-pitched puppy barks—even when he was no longer a puppy. He never did this with me or anyone else in the family. It was as if he was saying, “What’s the big secret? Just drop some food on the floor and I’ll take care of the rest.”

I am sure that on at least a few (regular) occasions food from the table or the counter made its way into Bailey’s stomach. Mom, of course, denies ever feeding him table food. Either way it doesn’t matter. I sincerely hope that Mom isn’t angry reading this. Mom loved Bailey and the feeling was definitely mutual. She would call Bailey her dog. When Bailey would give her that high-pitched bark she would talk to him as if the two were carrying on a real conversation.

I have said it before but its worth repeating. My parents loved Bailey and treated him like he was their own child. They constantly went out of their way to do what was best for him. Although I have said thank you many times, they may never know how truly grateful I am. More importantly, I know Bailey was grateful too.

Irrespective of whether Mom actually fed Bailey table food, she was certainly not the only one. Bailey had a look that just said, “I’m hungry”. I am sure that people saw that look on his face and wondered when he had his last meal or if he had ever been fed at all. Beyond that look that cried out “feed me”, Bailey had no sense of time and nowhere to be. If Bailey found someone with a plate of food he would wait until the plate was empty and there was no longer the possibility that at morsel would fall. I would often see this when my daughters were eating in our kitchen. Bailey would move from chair to chair hoping for even the smallest piece of food. At times I thought, “How long can one dog wait for a piece of food?” And then I always reminded myself that Bailey had no plans to follow. He had no agenda and no meetings to attend. As long as there was food around, he would just wait—no matter how long.

Beyond his stomach’s low tolerance for table food, Bailey would often get sick whenever I left town. If he saw my suitcase, that was it. It got to the point where I would have to hide the suitcase. We would wait until Bailey was laying comfortably on the couch so we could close the door and sneak the suitcase upstairs. Once I finished packing the suitcase would be moved into the garage so Bailey couldn’t see it.

Often Bailey joined us on family vacations. Bailey has been back and forth to California; to Florida several times; to New York; and even to Calgary to serve as the “Best Dog” in our wedding. Whenever possible, we drove the car instead of flying so Bailey could be with us for the entire journey.

When Bailey couldn’t come along on a trip, I felt bad about leaving him. I knew he missed me, but I hope he knew how much I missed him too—and of course, I hope he knows how much I miss him now.