Self Help by the Bayou Dog

  I am beginning to wonder if Ms. Ez, the Bayou Dog, is smarter than I realize.  Sometimes she can do things that make me scratch my head and question whether she has any brains but then she will turn around and do something ridiculously brilliant.  At least brilliant for a dog who is not supposed to understand health issues and medications.  

  I have been drinking a lot of herbal tea as I try to ward off any colds, flu or sinus infections.  These things have all been making the rounds through family and neighbors but, so far, I have been fortunate.  I have remained healthy throughout the winter.  Whew!  My herbal tea is infused with a healthy dose of ginger root, whole cloves and star anise. All of these are remarkably helpful in fighting any of the above mentioned illness.  I usually drink several cups of tea each day.  In the late evening, I will bring the tea into the living room and set it on the coffee table to cool.  I might leave it sit there as I do a few more chores such as carry in an armload of firewood or stoke the fire.  Never once have I had a problem leaving it there.  Nothing has ever bothered my tea!

  I have always been proud of the old dog as Ms. Ez has never touched any food items that were not placed in her bowl. Look at that face! Would you ever dream that she might touch food or drink that was not designated just for her pleasure?  Yesterday, I had placed the tea on the coffee table like any other day and turned to stoke the fire.  While my back was turned, I heard lapping.  Huh?  I reeled around just in time to see the dog lapping up my herbal tea!  What had gotten into that goofy animal?  As soon as she noticed that I was watching her, she slunk back to her bed by the door.  She knew that she had crossed the line with this antic!  All in all, she drank over a cup of the delicious, warming tea.

  This trick of Ezzy's got me to thinking.  For the past few nights, I have noticed that she seemed to be a bit congested.  Last night, after her taking a goodly sized dose of my tea, she had no problem sleeping through the night.  There was no sniffling at all!  Did Ms. Ez know that the tea would help her?   I am not even sure that those ingredients are on the "safe" list for dogs but she evidently seemed quite sure that they might help her feel better.  I think I will have to ask her vet.  If none will hurt her, I might have just hit on a way to doctor the dog!  (Or, perhaps I should say, Ms. Ez hit on a way to doctor herself and, perhaps, I should not have scolded her!)