Saturday, April 19, 2014

Let them eat Cake... ummm... raw meat

I'm  writing this post using Blogger's tablet tool, and I'm afraid it is lacking in functionality, such as the ability to attach photos inline. I used to use another product called BlogPost, but it hasn't been maintained for a couple of years, and no longer works at all (woe is me). These days I do most of my posts from my laptop, but sometimes it just isn't convenient.

It was a dog food run again - 200 pounds of raw meat ground with bone. Yum... the dogs scarf this stuff down as if it were candy, and since it is healthier than kibble, that's a good thing!

At one of our stops this morning I watched a woman with a service dog enter the department store. As she was walking outside, the dog was sniffing and not being particularly attentive. I thought back to the days when Spike went about with me and remembered how strict I was with him. Possibly because I had done his training myself, and also because service dogs for people with mental illness were not that common, I was very conscious of him having exemplary behaviour.  He was always well groomed, and his vest always clean (unlike the dog this morning). I felt that we were representing all service animals and I'm happy to say that Spike was up to the task.

Yesterday we were helping my brother move out of his high-rise apartment, and while I was outside waiting by the truck a family that was obviously new to Canada, came outside. They stood outside not far from me (within earshot) while the kids played around. I was impressed that they were making a big attempt at learning English - many of their words to each other were spoken in stilted English, the words not comfortably rolling off the tongue. It would have been easier for them to speak their native language, but they were obviously working to make a new life in Canada. I thought of all the immigrants that make up our nation, including my grand-parents, and Carm's parents; coming to a new country, not knowing anybody, not knowing the language, nor the culture, is a bravery that I'm not sure I have.

Merikay - I hear you about not missing TV. I wouldn't either, as long as I had some movies. Last night we got home from supper at my parents past 8:30. After all the beasts were fed we sat down and turned on the TV, of course there wasn't much on... except "Easter Parade" with Judy Garland and Fred Astaire. We enjoyed the light-hearted movie, especially the dance scenes - how do they get their feet to move so lightly? We laughed about how clumsy we are with our simple rumba steps :-)

The weather has still not been particularly spring like, although the sun was shining periodically today. There is one hopeful sign of spring - the barn swallows are back! I hope they stick around and make our barn their home for the summer.

1 comment:

Merikay said...

I assume you package and freeze the meat in manageable portions. Do they get any kibble as well?