I wish I had a picture...

...of Abby's big fat puppy belly yesterday morning.

And no, I don't mean the cute little puppy pooch that she had when we first got her--she outgrew that weeks ago. Actually, the rascal's been growing so fast that she can't keep up with herself, and she's all skinny and gangly, like a teenager in a growth spurt. Which is why her huge fat belly was impossible to miss yesterday.

Okay, let me back up and explain. Monday night I stayed at my friend Randi's house to puppysit while she was at the Panthers game. Meanwhile, Kevin was at home with our pups. I came home Tuesday morning, after he'd already left for work. Abby was in her crate, and had an accident. Since I knew Kevin had started her on a different kind of food that morning, I wasn't too surprised. But then when I took her out, I noticed the belly. And when I say big fat puppy belly, I mean, she went from looking bulimic the day before to looking like she was pregnant. She literally waddled.

So, I called Kevin at work and asked how much he'd fed her. But he'd fed her a normal amount. So I talked to Randi, who has had some exposure to a variety of dog health issues through her part-time job at a doggie daycare. I explain the big belly, and she tells me that it could be bloat, which can be deadly for dogs. So of course, I frantically call the vet, change out of my pajamas and head out (without a shower, incidentally).

The vet tech asks me if she could have gotten into anything, had any of her toys gone missing (yes, her belly was so big it could have been a toy), etc. I mention to the vet that she didn't seem to be feeling poorly, and had been wrestling with her brother. He asks, could she have eaten her brother's food? Well, I suppose, but she's pretty good about knowing what's her food and what's his.

So, the only way to know if her belly is full of food or full of gas (aka, bloat), is to take an x-ray. A $122 x-ray.

Ten minutes later, I am looking at an x-ray of a little puppy skeleton--and a big fat belly full of food. In fact, her stomach was so full, it was pushing against her ribcage and shoving her intestines out of the way. Yep, I paid $122 to find out our pup is a fat little pig who apparently got into her dog food bag. And then we waddled our way out of the vet's office.

And oh yeah, Abby had just been at the vet's the day before for shots, and she weighed 25.5 pounds. When I put her on the scale at our "emergency" visit yesterday, she weighed 28.3 pounds. That's right--she ate almost three pounds of dog food. I think she could give even my brother a run for his money at the all-you-can-eat buffet.