PETA

Tippy and Patches have been lifelong, faithful members of PETA. That's short for Pooches Eating Tasty Animals. Tippy and Patches do not discriminate when it comes to beef, lamb, pork, or an occasional jackrabbit, but they use some discretion when faced with sampling chicken or fish-flavored food. However, at the present time, the veterinarian is not Tippy's favorite person--she has made Tippy leave the PETA ways and become a vegetarian. It's not a weight issue but, rather, an allergy problem. Tippy has scratched herself raw and we can't seem to determine the cause. As long as she's on medications, she's okay. But the minute we begin weaning her from the meds, she starts scratching and biting again. Patches was okay with this initially because it didn't affect her eating habits. She saw, she conquered, she ate...it was that simple. But now that we're on the food allergy test, it has invaded Patches' world of eating. Trust me...the little Blue Heeler lives to eat. Other than swinging from a bull's tail, there is nothing Patches would rather be doing. The same is true for Tippy. If she's not bringing blood from a cow's nose, the Tipster is a food guru. So this vegetarian thing has truly impacted their lives. And now we have to measure the food as well. In their eyes the cup of non-meat based dry dog food is just a sample platter. They wait longingly for the main course...which never arrives. It also has affected the ducks because they love eating dog food. The battle is on in the morning when it's feeding time. Ducks and chickens line up in a row waiting for the food. Chickens attack the scratch grain, ducks dive into the dog food, cats scamper into their quarters for cat food, and the dogs historically have had to fend for themselves. So one would think this special diet is a good deal because they dogs are fed in separate pans away from everyone else. Not so. It doesn't contain meat and that's a problem. Just this morning I could see them plotting how they were going to get the juicy roast beef bone out of the crock pot. I could see the wheels turning. This sadness will continue for eight weeks. It is jeopardizing their PETA membership...and that's not good.