Valley Dog

Another minor miracle in this desert: it rained this morning. As a result, there were accidents stalling traffic along every major highway, and I crawled my way to work at an average of 15 mph.

The long commute gave me a chance to catch up on the news. Ordinarily, I listen to NPR, but today was the last day of the fundraiser, and I couldn't take their placid guilt trip anymore. So I skipped through the stations to find some good local station gabbing about sensational tidbits.

I found it.

Get this - I learned that yesterday, at the Ocean Beach pier, members of the local PETA chapter stripped nude, painted themselves to look like fish, then hung themselves by hooks to dispell the myth that fish don't feel pain. (Check out their press release: http://www.peta.org/MC/NewsItem.asp?id=10346) That's interesting. I know they feel pain, but boy are they tasty. Wonder when they'll stage a protest against the baby seals for eating fish.

Anyway, these PETA maniacs are why each time I need to enter the vivarium at UCSD I have to go through a keyed code and a palm scan twice.

So, with this ludicrous and disturbing image in mind, I ventured to the grocery store after work to stock up on food for us...and for Mishka. You see, Mishka eats raw.

That's right. In addition to body surfing and hanging with the well-dressed bitches at the dog park, Mishka has embraced California culture full on by reverting to the diet of her ancestors.

Californians crave fads. They crave pseudo-health movements and social consciousness. (Just today my friend Anni mentioned "I would prefer to eat happy meat," by which she meant the meat of animals that had a good life before they were whacked.) They believe that natural is always better (nevermind that snake venom or sulfuric acid are natural). And, as a testament to the persuasive power of the Californians, Mishka has brushed her kibble aside (food tainted with molds and fillers and substances unfit for any living, darling creature), and has converted to a true canine diet of raw meats (supplemented, of course, with Brewer's yeast, omega oils, pureed veggies and multivitamins that the primitive dogs probably didn't consume). The true difference? Mishka actually eats her dinner.

So, PETA, eat your heart out. Mishka is a HAPPY DOG.