Hazel

Hazel was a six-month-old harlequin Great Dane with way too much attitude for something that still tripped over her own paws. She chewed everything: blankets, socks, towels, couch corners… and for some reason, the zipper on my hoodie like she was trying to enter a metal-eating contest.

I shrugged it off as “puppy stuff.” Honestly, I feel sick writing that now.

The first warning sign

One morning Hazel threw up a tiny tuft of stuffing. I wiped it up and kissed her forehead like the clueless idiot I was. That was the warning shot. I ignored it.

That night she wouldn’t eat.

A Great Dane puppy refusing food is basically a smoke alarm in dog form.

Emergency surgery

The X-ray looked like a cotton storm inside her intestines. She had swallowed a massive chunk of cushion foam, probably from the couch she’d been working on for weeks while I pretended it was “quirky behavior.”

She went straight into emergency surgery.

They pulled out what looked like half a pillow. By the time she came home, she had a ten-inch incision down her abdomen and strict activity restrictions for more than a month.

I cried more that week than I did in high school.

What I wish I had known sooner

• Great Danes don’t “light chew.” When they chew, they destroy.
• Fabric, foam, socks, kids’ toys… dogs don’t digest any of it.
• Blockages are one of the top reasons Great Dane puppies end up in surgery.
• If your Dane vomits fabric, foam, or stuffing: call your vet now.

Hazel survived. My bank account didn’t. My pride didn’t either.

But if our story saves another Dane pup, then maybe it was worth the lesson.