Eating dog treats

Dog Treats

A few years ago, I took a trip to Indiana to visit my then- boyfriend, now- husband and his family for the holidays. I had never met any of his family, so I was nervous and wanted to make a good impression.

Since it was the holidays, I wanted to get gifts for everyone. Part of making a good impression I guess. His parents are divorced, so I had two parent meetings, one with his dad, and one with his mom and stepfather. Since I had flown to Indiana and was staying two weeks, I waited until I got there to do my Christmas shopping.

The day before we were to meet his mom and stepfather, I had my husband take me shopping. I wanted to make sure I got something that his mom would appreciate. After selecting a gift for them, we headed to the pet department. His mom had a small dog named Zippy. Since dogs are part of the family, I was determined to get a gift for him as well. My husband thought I was crazy, but I love animals, and wasn’t going to ignore the dog.

I couldn’t decide what to get. Should I get a toy? A bed? Treats? I walked up and down the aisles, looking for just the right item. I finally decided on a jar of gourmet, organic dog treats.

The night arrives, and we head over to his mom’s house with a pizza and presents. Still nervous, we exchange introductions and small talk. The four of us are sitting around the table eating pizza and talking, while Zippy is running back and forth, under the table and around our legs, looking for handouts. After we eat, his mom opens her gift and we continue talking. The jar of dog treats for Zippy is sitting on the table.

After a while, my husband, his mom and I notice that his stepfather is looking at the jar of dog treats. He takes the lid off the jar, picks up a treat, sniffs it, and pops it in his mouth. As we sit there staring in disbelief, he just chomps away, stating that it tastes pretty good. I’m trying hard not to laugh, after all, I’d just met him. My husband can’t help laughing, though, and neither can his mom. She finally says to him, you do know those are for the dog, don’t you? He thought it was some sort of snack mix, because the treats were small, and the jar was rather fancy for dog treats.

While I don’t recommend eating dog treats, tasting them is probably not going to hurt you – especially if they are organic treats.

Photo credit: laRuth on Flickr

July 17th, 2009 by Beth VanHoose | Posted in Dog Food, Dog Stories | (0)