A pooch with a habit for "eating grasshoppers like they're skittles" has been made to wear a mask in the garden to save her upset tummy. Olive the cheeky French bulldog took her snacking to the extreme and was left with a poorly stomach after scoffing living bugs in secret.
Owner Megan Lasuzzo, 32, says Olive is her "little Hannibull-dog Lecter" and finds it funny when she's compared to the famous film character. She bought the unusual-looking mask for £10 ($13) on Amazon and says it's usually used by vets and groomers, but does its job to deter the insects away.
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Megan, who lives in Texas with her husband Matt, 34, first noticed lots of grasshoppers in their garden last year, but didn't realise Olive was eating them.
"We began monitoring her closely outside and realised what she was doing. Anything that jumps around captures her attention and must be stopped," Megan explained.
"She's not allowed to eat them because it gives her an upset tummy - they give her diarrhoea - but she eats them like skittles so she has to wear this mask."
Olive only wears the mask for a few minutes at a time whilst supervised, and can now explore the outdoors without devouring bugs.
"Ever since then, we never leave her out of our sights while in the backyard. She doesn't always get the mask treatment, only when she's feeling especially murderous," Megan said.
"She can still open her mouth and breathe and pant; the mask really just makes her less accurate at hunting, capturing and consuming the grasshoppers.
"It's more so used as a training tool to get her to stop. It's a work in progress - she still wants to eradicate all the grasshoppers."
After Megan got rid of the grasshopper diet, Olive's tummy returned to normal and they were advised by vets to prevent her from eating them.
With the help of the mask, Olive can roam around the garden with her French bulldog sibling Valentino without risk of falling ill.
Megan added: "We also get a lot of comments about how she looks like and some really clever comments like 'she was born in the barkness' or 'houndable lecter' or 'Hannibal licktor'."
Does your dog have to wear an unusual gadget or item of clothing? Email nia.dalton@reachplc.com.
