Hambone Day: The Sequel

After the last fiasco of one hambone and two dogs, my mother-in-law brought over two very meaty bones wrapped separately in tinfoil.

Yesterday I decided it was Hambone Day. Me and the dogs went out onto the back patio and I got out the bones. One was very big. That one I decided would be for Lilly the Shepherd, as she's bigger, eats faster, and will snatch her sister's food if she's left at loose ends. Shiloh the Beagle-mix would get the smaller one.

I set the bones down and went back inside, shutting the sliding glass door behind me, as the dogs prefer to do their big, greasy bone-gnawing while lying on soft, thick mauve carpeting.

After having only been gone a few minutes to check my blog, I go to see how the chewing's going. What do I see through the sliding glass but Shiloh standing forlorn, a few feet from Lilly, watching her gnaw a now meatless bone.

I go outside and search the floor. No, there's not a scrap of ham anywhere and no sign of the other bone. Did Lilly demolish her own treat so quickly and then steal Shiloh's?

She must have. What to do?

Remembering how vociferously Mr. Cracker had spoken the words regarding his favored dog Shiloh last Hambone Day that, "There's no way she's not having any marrow," I made a decision.

I grabbed the bone in Lilly's mouth and yelled at her to drop it until she finally did. Then I brought the bone and Shiloh into the house, locked Lilly on the back patio by herself, and let Shiloh chew her bone on the carpet in front of the glass door.

Shiloh ate the ends off the bone, licked all the marrow out, and left a shell.

I let Lilly back in and let her have the dry, empty bone-shell.

The whole thing made me feel rather guilty. On a hunch I had forcibly taken the bone from Lilly, then avoided her eyes looking through the glass at us from exile. It was still nagging at me when Mr. Cracker came home. I told him what had happened, and how I felt bad because I really didn't know for sure that Lilly had eaten her own bone then taken Shiloh's. It was a supposition based on past behavior, and probably an accurate one at that; but still, I hadn't witnessed anything myself.

Mr. Cracker said, "There was only one hambone. The other thing was just a hunk of ham."

I groaned.

"It's OK," he grinned. "At least Shiloh got her marrow!"

Posted by floridacracker at December 20, 2005 07:57 PM