Dogfood

I seem to be caught up in a dog theme of late. Perhaps I am spending more time with my pets than I do with people.

I was going to post a picture of Wall-E under sedation, but Blogger is persnickety today .... Suffice it to say he looked pretty pathetic with his little pink tongue protruding just a bit. His eyes were glassy, too. Hmmm, I have seen people look this way under the influence of alcohol.

Oscar has had an amazing recovery. He is so perky again. He longs to chew on a treat, but, he can't. I am afraid he will hurt his gums. So, he will be on soft food forever. I have been making his food. Brown rice and chicken. I boiled a whole chicken and then pulled all meat off the bones. I was more careful boning his chicken that I am when I do it for people to eat. I shredded and mushed up all the meat and then cooked it all until it was really soft. He loves it. He gets to eat alone and the other two are jealous and no longer want the dry food.

I ventured out of my lair yesterday and drove into the great metropolis of Montgomery on a mission for bread and milk. He Who loves Jif needed his daily bread. While in the local grocery, I meandered down each and every aisle (having forgotten my list). Sometimes I will see something that will trigger my memory.

After Oscar's traumatic tooth loss, He Who loves to run errands told me that a small can of Alpo dog food was $2.00. She Who is cheap scoffed and decided to make her own. But, as I found myself on the dog food aisle I decided to do a price check of my own. He Who has been known to exaggerate, or even just make something up if he forgets to do my bidding.

The small cans were $.79 and the large can that could feed Oscar three times was on sale for $1.00. I should have known. To be fair, he says he priced this at the Dollar General and if I find myself there I will check it myself, but , whatever, it is the dollar store and is usually cheaper, for heaven's sake.

I purchased 5 cans, thinking that Oscar may be getting tired of eating the same thing every day. I bought 5 different flavors. I am a good and loving dog mom, after all. But, last night, as I lay snug in my warm bed, in the wee hours of the morning when insomnia once again invaded my world, I reconsidered all my actions of the day. I think it is called second guessing.

First I calculated the cost of my home made dog food as opposed to the food I purchased. Mine is still cheaper, even though the one can would provide 3 meals for my little guy. Then I wondered why I was worried that he would tire of the same food every day. He has been eating the same dry food 13 years. So, why did I think that? Is it a subliminal message sent from the dog food companies to encourage those who love their pets to buy more? What other evil ploys lurk on the grocery aisles?

I bought one can boasting a T-bone Steak flavor. I opened it and gave Oscar a little snack. He liked it. But, then Oscar would eat anything if he thought I would eat it. Then I pondered other things. Who taste tests this T-bone flavor? It smelled beefy to me, but I didn't want to taste it and it made me wonder if this was an actual job that was assigned to someone, to taste the dog food? Does it taste like a T-bone to a person .... or to a dog? And, how do you know the difference?

I had a very restless night as I pondered all this. Then I fell asleep. I don't know when I actually dozed off. I have removed all tellers of time from my room, eliminating my neurotic need to calculate how many hours and minutes of sleep can be attained if I go to sleep "right now". I do know I need more coffee to get myself going today.