For Part 1, click here. For Part 2, click here.
Pearl’s routine was to eat an item for a day or two, then reject it from then on. The struggle to find something she wanted, something to relieve her from that longing look at food, was a stressful challenge. One day Brenda made her some hamburger meat. Can you believe that she rejected it? Yogurt was something she liked for over a week. Expanding on that concept I got her some cottage cheese, some sour cream and, because the holidays were approaching, egg nog.
Thick, rich and horrible for the GI tract, it was one of her favorites, and she ate/drank it well into January, until it was no longer available. Cheese was another dairy product she liked.
I have a 30-minute each-way commute every day, and Brenda and I usually talk on the phone as I drive home. Hands-free, of course. For the two and one-half extra months we had with Pearl I would start every night’s conversation with an inquiry about Pearl. One evening Brenda nearly caused me to wreck when she said, “Pearl ate powdered-sugar doughnuts today.”
“She ate WHAT?” I inquired again.
“Yep, she ate three of them, one little piece at a time.” After that, each trip to the store meant looking for the one kind of powdered sugar doughnuts she liked. Some were too mushy, some were too hard, all of them made a huge mess, but we didn’t care.
Snack foods ended up being a big hit. Brenda likes CheezIts and Ritz crackers. So did Pearl. I like a little peanut butter on my Ritz. So did Pearl, although some days she wanted them together, and some days she wanted them separately. Like me, Pearl preferred crunchy peanut butter. We keep some smooth on hand for when granddaughter Sara Riley visits, but we teamed up in rejecting it.
One day Brenda was at the grocery store and saw some gourmet canned dog food called “Chef Michael’s.” She purchased only one can, not wishing to have more go to waste. Pearl inhaled it! We took that as a good sign and tried Hill’s k/d again. No go. I made an “emergency” trip back to the store for more Chef Michael’s.
After that, I thought, “If she will eat one kind of food in a tiny can, she’ll eat one of the others.” So, I shopped at the discount store and purchased Alpo, Mighty Dog and Cesar.
You may be sure I was quite desperate at this point. I’ve never been a fan of Mighty Dog, considering it much too high in sodium and fat. Still, I figured if powdered sugar doughnuts didn’t do her in, neither would bad dog food. I just hoped no one saw me purchase it!
