It lies on the grass grisly and grainy; fat pokes out between the brittle maze of calcium castles, tufts of red flesh glistening, beckon a salivating dude, the main man.
Sammy.
He waits, alert, primed for action. ‘Sit, stay.’ He sits. He stays. The seconds are like minutes, are like hours, like an eternity. ‘Go on. Good boy!’ He propels himself forward then tentatively inspects his prize. He looks around for interlopers, birds, cats, burglars, children, anything that might snatch, ‘his precious’. Then the orgasmic sniffs. Sammy is in heaven. He tastes a tiny morsel, savouring, delectable, juicy, exquisite, bloody sinews. But wait! It’s not safe. There are predators, stealers – everyone wants a greasy, stinky piece of carcass.
Sammy, weedy in stature, grasps the bone and drags it across the lawn amongst the weeds and prickles. He finds a spot under a tree and tries to dig. Sammy was not genetically engineered by his ancestral masters to be practical and makes a dogs’ breakfast of his work. The bone is half buried in the mud and covered in leaves.
Dirty nose and paws, the fuzzy hound approaches, cutely. ‘Hi Mum I’m hungry.’
Three weeks later Sammy sits on the grass, intense. He has a large, muddy object. Rotting, stinky, mouldy. Tasty. Sammy indulges. He gnaws and licks, grunting with pleasure.
‘Don’t eat that disgusting thing, you’ll vomit on the carpet.’ An attempt is made to remove it. Sammy growls, for seconds the wild animal rears it’s head. Don’t touch my bone!
What’s the point in giving that pooch a bone when he doesn’t eat it, buries it and tries to eat it when it’s flyblown and upsets his tummy?
Instead try-Dentastix – clean, green with mint for fresh puppy breath and nice teeth.
Do you think he will chew on those rubbery things?
Not a chance!
In these times of environmental crisis, should we, or dogs even eat meat? We domesticated animals early in evolution for food production, but do we need to now? It’s possible to go without. We are genetically programmed to benefit but the need outstrips the resources of our planet. Things to ponder. A vegetarian carnivore? Plant-based meat for pups?
Sammy continues to chew on a muddy bone. He throws up occasionally. He has good teeth and is very happy.
Burnside Writers Group 