"dog" news and stories

I was in Napa a few weeks ago for the Symposium for Professional Wine Writers, and had the opportunity to visit Tres Sabores Winery on my way out of town. (I won a fellowship to the symposium, and Tres Sabores was the sponsor. One of the reasons the judges matched me with that particular winery is that I write a lot about green issues, and Tres Sabores is a sustainable winery.)

At the Tres Sabores ranch, I toured the property with owner Julie Johnson and one of her sweet dogs, who acted as if she owned the place. Turns out, she does. She and Julie's two other dogs have been featured in the U.S. Wine Dogs book, one in a series taken all over the world by Australian photojournalists Craig McGill and Sue Elliot.

To date, they've got two U.S. editions, Italy, New Zealand, Australia, and the Australian Deluxe edition. It seems they've tapped into something: wherever there's a winery, there's a dog (or two or three).

If you love dogs and wine, this book is a winning combination.

Kool Dog Kafe, which specializes in gourmet dog treats, has an incredible selection of canine-friendly cookies to get your pet for the holidays. And if you're an animal lover, you know that you like to give your favorite pet a little something special when everyone else in the family is getting their own gifts. From Hanukkah puppies (wearing little blue yarmulkes) and blue and white dreidels, to personalized red, green and white Christmas stockings, there are a lot of options to choose from. There is a complete holiday dinner, which includes 2 drumsticks, 1 baked potato, 2 crescent rolls, 2 doggie bones, 1 veggie leaf, and 3 cranberry churro bite cookies, if you want something more substantial, and even a set of snowflakes, for nondenominational dogs. The healthy cookies taste as good as they look and have a shelf life of 6-8 weeks. Dogs probably don't get the concept of these gift giving holidays, but they're going to be grateful to receive these cookies all the same.

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It's a common scene in the movies. The family leaves the kitchen or dining room unguarded, distracted by some meaningful event, such as a proposal, death, natural disaster or mental breakdown - whatever constitutes "meaningful" in the movies these days - and returns to find most of dinner missing and Fido licking his chops on the floor.

Unless you have a big dog with quick reflexes, it's more likely that your pup or your cat will snag a bite or two of food than a whole meal. And just about everyone who has owned an animal has caught them red-pawed at one time or another. Now, that's not my kitten in the picture and I probably would have shooed him away before thinking to snap a photo, but that is an extremely cute shot that brings up the question of what "people foods" do your pets tend to go for when they have the chance?

Personally, I've had a cat that would go for macaroni and cheese if I wasn't looking and neighbor whose dog would watch for unguarded egg dishes (making brunch a tricky meal to enjoy).

I'll be keeping a closer eye out the next time I make waffles, just in case.

[image via cute overload]

In the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, a group of approximately 40 demonstrators gathered to protest the sale of cat meat at the Fangji Cat Meatball restaurant. Protestors initially demanded that any live cats on the premises be freed or turned over to them, but the shop owner had already removed them from the premises. Instead, a search of the kitchen revealed cat meat and a whole, skinned cat in the fridge, which reduced some of the protestors to tears. The restaurant was chosen as the site of the protest because workers at the restaurant had been seen killing cats in the street, something which concerned parents said was traumatic for children attending school nearby.

The owner of the shop defended the sale and consumption of cats - which are, along with dogs, considered to be traditional, comforting fare in the province - but said that he would close his shop.

Perhaps due to outside influences and the increasing popularity of having dogs and cats as pets, the animal rights movement is gaining momentum in China. An increasing perception of these animals as companions and not food could eventually put a stop to the practice all together.

A local beauty queen, who participated in the protest, even urged people to "stop eating cats and dogs and become civilised."

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The chef of a Michelin-starred restaurant near Verona has recently released a book of gourmet recipes intended for dogs. Bruno Barbieri says that while the 51 recipes in Mangiare da Cani (Eat Like a Dog) can work as people food, they are tailored for dogs. Recipes are low on spices, salt and fat, which may not agree with dogs' digestive systems. A recent article in The Times featured a recipe for quail eggs, polenta and marinated beef on wild salad leaves. An Italian website for the book is available here. Some of you may also recall New Yorker writer Susan Orlean's Throw Me A Bone, a dog cookbook written from the perspective of her Welsh springer spaniel. Food writer Jeffrey Steingarten also wrote about cooking for his dog in It Must Have Been Something I Ate.