Tomorrow it’s back to vet Q&A. But first . . .

An interesting thing happened the other night. It involved my pal Buster and an unattended bag of shredded coconut. Can you guess what happened?

On the bright side, there was no mess. Buster polished off every last shred of the coconut. Also, his stools have been wonderfully firm the last couple of days. The coconut has passed through his system largely undigested. It makes an excellent binder.

Buster is not a bad dog for eating the coconut. It was my fault. I left the house with the coconut in an accessible place. How could he resist?

The coconut, of course, was for a holiday recipe.

Fortunately, Buster has suffered no adverse effects from the incident. But not all dogs will be so lucky over the next few days. You may not realize that a wrapped present under the tree contains a bar of dark chocolate. But your dog easily can sniff it out. Perhaps you don’t like your aunt Edna’s fruitcake. I’m sure your dog will be happy to take it off your hands before you have unwrapped it.

What are the morals of this story? Don’t leave attractive nuisances where your pet can find them. And open your presents early.

Photo: What? No chocolate?