Parenting 101

First rule of parenthood--keep your child safe (and alive for that matter).  I hear there is nothing worse than having someone who doesn't have a child lecture you on how you should raise your child.  Being an un-parent myself, I do my best to keep my judgments at bay, and put myself in the shoes of a mother who is dragging her screaming two year-old child through the grocery store.  Really, I just want to reach out and help her, but I suppose I want to help her in a way I think works best, which clearly isn't THE way.
Anyways, I digress too easily...Jesse and I experienced a bit of this last night.  No, we didn't miraculously pop out a child for the night, but sometimes having a seven month-old puppy can feel like having a toddler.  There is an adorable little block of restaurants with outdoor seating near our home.  We like the food, and best of all, we can take Hutch with us, tying him up at the fence next to our table.  As we were finishing up our meal, Jesse excused himself to the restroom, leaving me and Hutch to enjoy the cool breeze blowing through.  Suddenly, Hutch started yelping, crying, and what sounded like screaming.  It took me a few seconds to realize he'd swallowed his bone whole, and he was either panicked or in pain.  Now, I certainly know what to do when a child or baby chokes, but a dog?  I hit him on his sides, his tummy, his back...anything to try to make him spit it up.  The restaurant manager came running over and told me to stick my finger down his throat, which I did, but everything was so lodged, he couldn't spit it up.  I could feel the bone in his throat, but couldn't grab it.  All of this is to say...I was a bad parent, and this time, I needed all the advice I could get.  Hutch was crying, I appeared to be beating my tiny pup, and management was swarmed around me on the sidewalk as passersby just stopped and stared.  He's only a dog, but he's MY dog.  By the time Jesse returned, the crowd had dwindled to just two managers, making it seem like I'd been banned from our table to the sidewalk.  We left the restaurant with an uncomfortable and panicked puppy, and the managers reassuring us it will be alright.  Thankfully, Hutch's gag reflex finally was able to kick in, and his poor little body took care of the problem.  Yuck, but yay!  His mishap took the starch right out of him, but he's bounced back pretty quickly.  I better work on that first rule of parenthood a little better...