"We thought the cookies were for the dog!!"

[Golden Phoenix]

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2007/10/pets/chocolate-chart-interactive

For anyone interested in seeing how much chocolate it is safe for a dog (under "average" circumsatnces) to consume.

Great little gizmo.

In regards to the OP, I would be rather hurt but if this is a one-off incident I'd simply not bother baking for them again unless it was pre-arranged. It may have just been a massive brain-burp on her part.

[Minmom3]

Chocolate - I think it can also very much depend on the dog involved.  We had a nice lab mix come in a few days ago who hopped a baby gate to get to the tree and the gifts under it, and the 18 oz chocolate box with the rest of the gifts.  Dog vomited once at home, and again at work with us, after we gave her an emetic.  Vomited SO copiously it was amazing...  She felt better after that, but her bp went up and her heart rate went up, and she was pretty dehydrated.  They took her home again when we closed (no overnights) and I'd guess they gave her fluids of some kind at home, because when she came back the next morning I'm told she was in good shape, no longer at risk. 

$500 bill for the owner to find out that chocolate under the tree is highly attractive and easy to get to for a 60 lb. dog, baby gate or no baby gate.  And she snaked the box out of its gift bag without damaging the bag, and then peeled open the box just tearing a small spot on the hinge of the box!  I've seen people who couldn't do such a tidy job of opening that!!  Sweet dog, I'm glad she's OK.

[O'Dell]

She sounds goofy. So goofy in fact that she doesn't know when she's being goofy and wants to tell people stories about it.   

If your tolerance for that sort of thing is low, then maybe forget the socializing type activities with them and stick to trading favors...a ride for her, an artificial xmas tree for you, etc. Enough of those and things even out. No need for the extras, IMO.

[TootsNYC]

  (Just days after I said I didn't bake dog biscuits, fyi.  We had been talking about fund raiser ideas for a dog park.)

I bet you a nickel that she misheard you. Or misremembered your comments.

It felt like an intentional insult.

She'd have to be incredibly fast on her feet to come up w/ that as an intentional insult!

And I think that her husband may have simply followed her lead, if she couldn't see the choc. chips.



I vote for not baking for them, and maybe for not getting them sugary baked goods at all. And having them over to see the tree just as you'd planned.

[JeanFromBNA]

I honestly laughed out loud when I read your post.  It reads like a wingadingdingy Van Dyke Show episode.

[Betelnut]

Well, she did give you a Christmas tree so I think you're ahead of the game no matter what.

[Vilandra]

OP here.  Thanks for your thoughts.

Doubtful that there was a misunderstanding about the “I don’t bake dog biscuits anymore.” conversation.  My impression was that she had suggested the bake sale as she knows I bake.  When I said no to my baking dog biscuits, she asked why since I like to bake (her words about me).  So, I explained that both times I had tried baking dog biscuits, they had quickly molded due to the chicken fat in them.  A memorable illustration!

Even though she has cataracts, her husband doesn’t have cataracts.  So seeing the cookies couldn't have been a problem.

They both know that dogs can’t eat chocolate as they chastised me once when they gave me a couple chocolate chip cookies and I gave a bite to my dog.  (I try to give bites with no chocolate in them.  But my dog is 90 lbs. so he easily handles a chip or two.)  Their dog is 40 lbs and they don’t feed her chocolate at all - until now.

Playing the incident back in my head, I really think she intentionally kept up telling me that they gave the cookies to the dog.  Most people caught in the headlights of a major faux pas would look panicky and then try to kindly white lie their way out so as not to hurt the other person’s feelings.  This woman just kept up the story: “Wait ‘til I tell my husband that we fed your cookies to the dog!  That’s a funny story to tell!  The kids will love it (referring going to her kid’s house today).”  No embarrassment or apologizes at all.

This isn’t a singular incident.  I withdrew from our friendly neighbor relationship a few years ago as I had had it.  When we first met, she had said something about people not staying friends with her and she hoped I would stay her friend.  Ultimately, I couldn’t take it either.

She’s been easier to take since her husband retired a couple years ago.  She and I don’t do anything together anymore.  When she called for the ride, it occurred to me that it might be a bad idea, but I said yes due to the cataracts. 

They are on a waiting list for a retirement community and hope to get an apartment next year.  My dog adores them so we stop in a couple times a week.  As long as I limit one-on-one time with her, I might be able to take it for another year!

I like the idea of serving the banana bread with the coffee, thanks!  I’ll pop it in the freezer now.

I won't mention this to her husband, but it'll be interesting to hear what her hubby has to say about it should he bring it up.

Under these circumstances I'm not sure I would have accepted the tree from them.

[siamesecat2965]

My 28 lb Welsh Corgi dismantled my XMAS baskets and ate 5 Lindt Santas .... foil wrap and all. No bad effects .. other than she was a little gassy.  The dog should be OK ( if it isn't a teeny tiny one )

I snickered at this one.  I had a half corgi as a child, and my mom decided one year to make me a large adn mini easter basket.  Well, at age 4 or so, I decided the small one was for the dog and fed him all the chocolate eggs in it!  I don't think it had any ill effect on him, but my mom was NOT pleased.

[PeterM]

Well, she did give you a Christmas tree so I think you're ahead of the game no matter what.

Also, she didn't try to force you to eat any of the dessert that she thought was fit only for dogs. So you've got that going for you, which is nice.