Dog Daily News

How could a face like this get stuck with kibble day in and day out?

On my way to the office today, I heard a terrific little story on NPR about how much money Americans are spending on their dogs. Despite a huge plunge in retail spending in general, the money our people put out for us dogs (and other pets) is up $2.2 billion from last year, according to figures from the American Pet Products Association (APPA). That’s $45.4 billion. That’s a lot of kibble.

Paris is in the doghouse with me for spending so much $ on this purebred palace

I love that people are treating their pets more like family members. Back in my great-grandmother’s day, dogs still generally slept outside, in doghouses. And not the $350,000 doghouse Paris Hilton recently built for her pampered pups.  That’s so over the top it makes me want to pull out her blond extensions! Anyway, back in the old days, we dogs were loved in a way, but we were often more like property than family members. I am glad for the change.

However, I admittedly got a little jealous when I heard on the NPR story about all the delicious foods others of my species are enjoying on a regular basis:

• The “dad” of a French Bulldog named Mac frequently cooks him chicken, but even more shocking to me was how Mac feasts on Sunday mornings. “On our Sunday morning walks we go to the Praline French restaurant and I always get him a quiche, because he’s a French bulldog so he can have his Quiche Lorraine on Sunday morning,” Mac’s person told NPR.

• The “mom” of a Deerhound feeds her dog as organically as possible, and even gives her chicken carcasses. If she’s anything like some of my friends at the dog park, these are raw, organic chicken carcasses bought at a store that specializes in providing pets and people with raw, organic meats. I heard one woman at the dog park say that she felt her Golden Retriever’s coat was as shiny as it is because of her raw diet. And as a bonus, she says the animals Goldie eats “lived happy, healthy lives.” That is, until they move to the next realm to become raw, organic meals for Goldie.

My humans can’t afford organic chicken for themselves lately, much less for me. So it’s kibble for me, and maybe just a little leftover thigh meat on a good day when they don’t have to make chicken soup from the bargain-basement Safeway carcass. My coat is admittedly not that glossy, but it’s not really supposed to be. At least that’s my excuse around Goldie, who has raw-chicken breath that I absoutely delight in.

At least I eat.

Tragically, because of the ongoing economic blight, many humans simply can’t afford to keep their dogs anymore. Shelters are bursting at the seams with dogs whose people had to turn them because of devastating economic woes. Some of these people lost their homes when their mortgage payments skyrocketed, and couldn’t find a place to live that would allow a dog. Others are lucky to feed themselves, much less their dog. (The New York Times did an excellent story on this phenomenon more than a year ago, toward the beginning of the country’s long economic slide.)

So with tears, they bring their pets to the local shelter, with hopes that someone who can afford their beloved dogs will fall in love with them adopt them, and they will have plenty of food and a warm place to sleep and lots of love. But all too often, the crowded shelter can’t adopt out these pets, and they’re euthanized.

With this reality in mind, maybe some of the humans who are spending willy-nilly on luxury items for their pets could do something for their local shelters, or donate time or money to an animal charity. There are so many.

And if you happen to have an extra quiche or chicken carcass lying around, look for me at the dog park. I’m the stumpy one with the not-so-glossy coat.