The Dogs of Fiction

Not just "books about rascally lovable mutts and bad dogs that impart life lessons to simple-minded human masters." A fun look at books by and about dogs.

Which are not my favorite dog books, anyway. This list is not exhaustive, but it's a look at the uses writers have for dogs. Sci fi dogs, best friend dogs, wise dogs, foolish dogs, dogs who capture the imagination.

What would you expect a dog to write about?

His favorite dog food brand? Even Teddy Kennedy's dog was just a dog, altho he was also a humanizing influence. Everyone liked him, even Republicans who were battling Senator Kennedy's initiatives.

Cute article about intern's dog impersonation.

Mu

Does this Chihuahua have Buddha nature? Or not?

Pet Foods, Organic Produce and a Death Sentence

Are we supposed to feel better now that the former director of the Chinese State Food and Drug Administration has been sentenced to death for taking bribes?
Chinese Produce Not What It Claims To Be from Business Week:

China's record with food imports isn't reassuring. Just last month, 107 food imports from China were detained by the Food & Drug Administration at U.S. ports, according to The Washington Post. Among them were dried apples preserved with a cancer-causing chemical and mushrooms laced with illegal pesticides.

Another scary article about Chinese food imports. China is quickly becoming the world's largest exporter of fresh produce. Much of what is sold in Wal-Mart is imported from China. Further, produce sold as "organic" has not been.

Now that my own dog has taken ill, although not with kidney failure, I'm even more curious about where all this will lead. I think it's disgraceful to try to limit pet owners' damages to the "replacement" cost of an irreplaceable animal. At the very least, the cost of all the defective dog food should be refunded. People were not getting what they paid for. As well as the cost of veterinary care, special foods, etc. That is what the class action is seeking.

The Ongoing Pet Food Scandal and Recipe

Now that we have discovered that the Chinese feel that melamine is an acceptable additive for animal food -- recall that our own food laws were passed to eliminate such items as brick dust from prepared foods -- what can we do but avoid processed foods for ourselves and our pets?

Sasha's Beef Stew

2-2 1/2 lbs London broil or other cut of beef,
cut into strips and then into squares
1 1/2 crowns broccoli
1/2 cup brown rice
1/2 cup white rice
1/2 cup baby carrots
Add a half sweet potato or parsnip, as available.

Put brown rice in large stew pot with 4 cups water. Chop up carrots and add. Let cook for 10-15 mins. Add white rice, chopped broccoli, and London broil. Cook until rice is done. Serve with vitamins, including glucosamine and chondroitin supplement as recommended by your vet.

Save 3 days' worth in the fridge and freeze the rest in small freezer bags to be thawed as needed.

Publishing and Pet Food: The Connection

Thanks for this post at Metaxucafe. By now we've all heard about the poisoned pet food, and that many high-end brands are manufactured in the same plant as the cheapest brands, using some of the same ingredients. Sure, there are a lot of problems with aiming for the bottom line -- which the mass-market approach to anything ensures. Whether you're squeezing the last dollar out of books or dog food, you wind up with a similar product when buyers are expecting something unique. Is there anything unique, or are we back to Baudrillard's simulation of freedom?

Consumer products being what they are, I don't doubt that what we're getting is stamped out, endlessly, identically, cars that differ mainly in the position of the cup-holder, movies with the same stories but different actors. But publishing, like the making of artisan cheeses and gourmet pet foods, should be, and is, I hope, run by individuals, each trying to push his or her unique vision past the gauntlet of corporate sales goals. Failing that, they start small presses. It may not be too much to expect that individuals push their visions, but it may be too much to expect them to succeed more than once in awhile.

What happened to the mission to edify? Can we get back to it? Now it's all about pandering -- will the arts that are "an acquired taste" -- non-mainstream writing, music, art, dance -- disappear in another generation? Or does that very question mark me as a dinosaur? Yet, where did the money come from, back in the day, for such edifying efforts -- was it, say, corporate sponsorship? And why is that declining? As the economy tightens and the rich and powerful look down at the struggling rest of us and raise gas prices yet again, do they fear, all reality to the contrary, that they will soon share our struggle to pay the bills? What is their problem?

Dog to the Rescue

From the BBC: Debbie Parkhurst of Maryland was choking on an apple, and her dog jumped on her chest to dislodge it. They will be making the rounds of talk shows. I wonder what the dog will have to say. The same page on the BBC has links to stories about a lifesaving rabbit, cat, and beagle (who dialed for help from a mobile phone).

I love stories like this. My dog has so far saved my life in more subtle ways, earlier getting me to go outside on a beautiful spring day, rather than pretzel up at my desk and drink chai.

Best Friends; or, Kids are a Dog Substitute

It's pretty much the accepted wisdom among one's friends that if one is childless and has animals, the animals are child-substitutes. Actually, although there were parallels when he was a pup, since he was more dependent and needed training, my adult dog is more like a friend -- albeit one I have to feed daily and let outside to poop. We've been hiking, mountain biking, to the beach, the city, the pizzeria, etc. He's up for anything, even if it means sitting in the car waiting while I'm in the bookstore.

He does like to sniff books. I imagine he thinks I am into flat, rectangular sticks, while he prefers the conventional, long, round ones. Now that he's well past lap-size, he no longer inserts himself between my eyes and the page.

Click here for fun dog book. According to NPR, more U.S. households include dogs than kids.

Zen of Looking

He is very good at looking.