Meal Times

I love to eat, so you can imagine how much I look forward to meal times!The dogs here eat twice each day, and we get something different at each meal. We always get some variety of kibble, but with that we also get ripe bananas or ground beef or steamed vegetables or yogurt or apples or some other tasty treat. One of the dogs, the red one named Quinn, has stomach problems so she gets a special homemade mixture of boiled turkey and potatoes and no fat cottage cheese. Her food looks okay, but I’m glad I’m healthy and can eat everything that is served!

Before we can eat, some of us have to “kennel up” so we aren’t running around like maniacs while the food is being prepared, which, with 17 dogs, can be quite an assembly line production. I get the middle kennel in the second row. The big, black and tan Cavalier named Nigel used to be in that spot, but now I get it because I am a really good jumper and I can leap into it easily. Since Nigel is an older guy, he got switched to a ground-floor kennel. 

My foster mom is organized so it doesn’t take too long for her to prepare all the food bowls but, no matter how fast she works, the waiting is H-A-R-D for a busy and eager guy like me. And there are rules: I’m not allowed to bark while I’m waiting for my meal. Drat. 

This no bark rule was hard for me to follow at first, especially since some of the other dogs bark and get me started. But my foster mom won’t budge on this requirement, and if I make a peep she reminds me to stop and won’t feed me until I’m quiet. Apparently the old, deaf dogs can’t hear her “ENOUGH” command so they have an excuse for being noisy. But I’m young and smart with excellent ears, and she expects better behavior from me. Besides, she says there are plenty of other times when I get to bark my fool head off so I absolutely must exercise self control at meal times. I might not like it, but I’m trying my best to comply. I’m all for doing what I need to do to get those most excellent meals!