HELOISE Injuries were caused by rosemary branch

Dear Heloise: I just got an e-mail from my brother-in-law, Ed, concerning his "granddog," Gretchen. She is a Parson Russell terrier. It seems that while outside playing, chasing a lizard, she starting screaming. This continued for about a minute while Ed carried her into the house and checked for any external injuries. He couldn't find any and got her calmed down. He checked her mouth and ears but couldn't see anything.
Gretchen starting shaking her head, and Ed thought that maybe a rosemary branch was in her ear. So he took her right to the doctor, and the doc pulled out a half-inch-long stick, about as thick as a toothpick, that had punctured her ear canal. Then on further examination, he pulled out a full-inch-long stick that had a punctured the canal lining. There was some bleeding down in the ear, but thankfully, absolutely no damage to the eardrum. She is OK, and her hearing is fine.
Needless to say, the rosemary has been removed. I'm writing to advise other readers of this and to keep another beloved pet from having to go through this. JoEllen from California
Who would have thought that rosemary could be dangerous for pets? Thanks for sharing this story. Heloise
Dear Heloise: Someone recently gave me a pet guinea pig. I tried several kinds of bedding for her cage, but some seemed too rough for her tiny feet. On an impulse, I decided to try using paper that we had put through our shredder. Abby loves this new bedding material and burrows deep into it to snuggle down each night. Her vet says that it will not harm her, and, best of all, the price is right! Florence from Ohio
Dear Readers: Cy and Karen Keech of Greenfield, Ill., sent us a photo of their pets, Otis the dog with Boots and Cowboy, their cats, sitting on his back, as pretty as you please. Otis, a 10-year-old Australian sheepdog, loves cats and helps to bring the horses in from the pasture.
Cy and Karen said they enjoy seeing the different pets on my Web site, www.Heloise.com, and wonder where we would be without our wonderful pets. Heloise
Dear Heloise: Just a note, for what it's worth, about the recent letter regarding teaching a dog to ring a bell to go out: We did that with our border collie because we couldn't use the dog door with two house cats also in residence. It took me a while to catch on to Daisy's tricks, but we realized that she would frantically ring that bell whenever I was petting a cat -- also when the vacuum cleaner came out. It's tough to have a smart and jealous pet. We still use the bell but are wiser to her antics. Joy, St. Augustine, Fla.
XSend a money-saving or timesaving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Texas 78279-5000, or you can fax it to (210) HELOISE or e-mail it to Heloise@Heloise.com. I can't answer your letter personally but will use the best hints received in my column.
King Features Syndicate