Pound Cake, Strawberries & Blueberries

I've been craving a piece of pound cake topped with some strawberries or blueberries. The season is right and we all deserve a little something special every once in awhile. So yesterday I ventured out. I went to my favorite little farm stand knowing that they would at least have some of the ingredients.

Along for the ride came Buddy, my Brittany who's struggling with a serious health issue that I'll explain. Buddy and I had an awful time last week. Buddy has a condition that basically is an intermittent paralysis of the larynx. It happens if he gets overly excited or if there is pressure on his throat. He can't control his breathing if his larynx closes and he loses oxygen and can collapse. When it happens I calm him and try to talk him through the incident. Our Vet is aware and we've gone over all of the alternatives. Buddy is 14 but in pretty good health with the exception of this condition.

I took him to the groomer last week and he had one of these incidents while being bathed. They took him to a close by animal hospital and called me with the news. When I got there Buddy had been sedated and put on oxygen. Tests were run to make sure his lungs were free of liquid and that his heart was ok. We got out of there 3 or 4 hours later and I spent most of last week and the weekend trying to make a decision about putting Buddy down - decided for it, against it and so on. By Monday I had decided we would hold off at least for now and continue to get the most out of life as long as we could minimize these incidents.

That brings us to the trip to the farm stand. I decided Buddy would come along for the ride because he loves being in the car. So there we were looking at all of the fresh fruit, vegetables and baked goods. I spotted a beautiful homemade Pound Cake on the table. I grabbed it along with a quart of strawberries, a pint of blueberries and a nice yellow melon. Everything got bagged up except for the melon which I always choose to have roll around freely in the car.

I had to make a quick stop at the pharmacy so I made sure the bag was wrapped and tucked. Cracked the windows for Buddy, ran in, picked up what I needed and came back out, in what I thought was record time. Too late though for a Brittany with a bottomless stomach. There was Buddy still into his work. The Pound Cake was completely gone, bag and wrapper destroyed in the process. Strawberries and blueberries were out of containers, poked by a nose, half eaten and spread out on the floor and in the back seat. The only survivor was the melon. Buddy had no shame. No cowering or guilty look and no problem breathing. His paws were a mix of red and purple juice as was my back seat upholstery.

I did my best at disciplining Buddy, ordering him to the front seat before realizing that his paws were soaked in red and purple. Too late! Sped home, worried about the berry effect on a Brittany's digestive system and trying to think about the cleanup project ahead of me.

Buddy enjoyed a nice afternoon nap, but as the evening wore on and went into the night, a stomach ache seemed pretty evident. At 3 in the morning we were both up, Buddy looking for water and the nearest exit and me searching for a flashlight. We survived the Pound Cake, all of its butter, the strawberries and blueberries in more ways than one. Buddy is well, looking forward to his next ride in the car that smells like a fruit scented cleaning product.