Roy Bean and the missing cookies

Roy Bean is our 4th dog. (yes, we have 3 others). Roy is sitting at my feet right now looking lovingly at me, the incident from this morning, is not even a distant memory. Dog memory is brief, approximately 3 seconds.

Roy Bean has food issues.

When he was brought home from the pound in February of 2004, the original plan was for collie rescue to help him find a home. Problem is, he's only part Collie. His release paperwork listed his health status as "grossly obese". At 94 pounds, he was at least 30 pounds overweight. So, while he looked like a collie, he was just a very fat long-haired mix.

He was tested for thyroid problems. His thyroid levels are well within "range".
He loves to play and run around so we knew he wasn't lazy.
His problem: counter surfing.

Months of healthy portion sizes and romps with the other dogs, has helped Roy reach his goal weight of a svelte 60 pounds. He still loves food. He is favorite time of day is dinner time. His two favorite words are "crunchies" and "cookies". When he hears the sound of a dogfood bowl being picked up he responds like most of us would to winning big with a scratch off ticket. Roy has lost the weight, for now, but when faced with temptation, Roy can't help it. I don't think he even tries to resist, he just loves to eat.

This morning I let my guard down and an entire pan of chocolate chip cookie bars disappeared. It all happened in less than 5 minutes.

It takes a lot of chocolate to hurt a fat dog. According to our vet, Roy will be fine, but we need to, uh, watch his weight.