Checking In With the Carpetdogs

Things My Dogs Eat:

• Vegetables;
• Bread people throw out for the birds;
• Chips given to them by the neighborhood urchins;
• Scraps of kebab and other unidentified matter on the sidewalks;
• Things I leave unattended on the coffee table;
• Ghetto cats

Things My Dogs Do Not Eat:

• The imported $90/bag of American kibble, painstakingly sought out and selected to meet the specific dietary needs of their advanced ages.

This conflict has inspired a number of lively inter- and intra-species debates. The lines of argument in the latter are pretty one-sided and consist mostly of me declaring that, under the current ruling regime, hunger striking is not an effective tool for bringing about social change.

The interspecies debates are a little more complicated. Some, such as the Correspondent-Formerly-of-Bekaa-Valley-now-of-Beirut, posit that paying $90/bag for kibble is absurd and I should simply cook up a big batch of chicken, vegetables and rice every week for them. As someone for whom cooking for herself is a daily burden, I find this suggestion, in polite terms, unrealistic. Furthermore, think of the precedent homemade meals would set! Would these dogs ever go back to eating kibble? I think not. Perhaps she would like to move to Istanbul and be their personal chef.

Nevertheless, this situation illustrates an interesting cultural debate. Which is more decadent? Purchasing expensive food for dogs who eat cigarette butts on the ground? Or buying ingredients, carrying them home, cooking them up and individually packaging meals for easy consumption? I guess the answer depends on which a culture values more: time or money.

I'm thinking of just turning them loose on the pile of garbage in front of my apartment.

Comments

[phyek]

I never trusted bagged/canned pet food, and that's not just because of the recent poisonings here in the US. My dog (who was actually born in Baku) lived a healthy 18 years on home cooking. Making something simple for a few days at a time isn't that difficult...at least you'll know the ingredients every time.

[enidd]

enidd's dogs have just had a bag of $90 organic, mostly meat kibble purchased for them, right here in molvania. (wow, there is a proper dog shop at last!) they are young, and certainly don't turn their noses up at it, but they do prefer rotting corpses, horse poo and poisoned bird bread to any yummy snacks enidd provides.

and she's with you on the cooking - the man used to insist on them feeding the dogs raw, minced chicken wings and veggies, until she asked him to do his share of the preparation.

[vagabondblogger]

My dog is 13 years old. She basically grew up overseas. I have known people who bring in their own dogfood, not trusting what's on the local market. My dog eats anything that smells and the ranker it is, the more she wants it. She has eaten dead geckos, chicken bones found on the street, moldy bread in Baku and most recently grease covered charcoal. She's not picky, so why should I be. I eat locally and so does she.

[vagabondblogger]

Sorry, I forgot to add that it's illegal to bring dog food into Egypt. I'm not sure why - something about a kid once getting a hold of it, eating it, and the story gets pretty murky after that. I've just been told, "don't."

[Robyn]

I'm surprised no one's mentioned poop. Cat poop, dog poop, whatever. When out on a walk our two dogs of rottweiler-and-other-stuff descent seem to be able to smell it a mile away. (The spitz mix turns her nose up at it.)

They like their ($30, not $90-dollar, thank god) imported kibble too.