IT'S A YING, YANG THING

I was telling Jet (my foster mom) about two of my dog buddies in the neighborhood. – Let’s call them Frick and Frack.

It dawned upon me that these canine pals have a very one-sided relation-ship. Frick is good-natured and obliging; Frack is sneaky and conniving. Let me give you an example. They both like to chase rabbits (almost as much as I do). This is where the similarities end.

The problem is that Frack’s nose for critters is real good so she alerts Frack that there is a rabbit hiding somewhere behind a long row of hedges. How-ever, instead of charging after the rabbits, she alerts Frick to their location so he will run into the bushes after them. He scares the rabbit out the other end where Frack is waiting. She gets the glory of chasing the rabbit by herself while Frick is working his way out from behind the row of thick bushes. By the time Frick shows up at the other end, the chase is over, the rabbit has found the safety of a burrow or fence and he has nothing but brambles to show for it.

This pattern repeats day after day, rabbit after rabbit.

What’s wrong with this partnership? The same thing wrong with so many in the human world I guess. Whether marriage, business (or canine), partnerships are only good if the give-and-take come from both sides; it only works if one partner is not always taking advantage of the other. A ying needs a balanced yang which means both partners have to care about the needs and joys of the other. Some partners aren’t mismatched, they are simply too selfish to care about the needs of others.

So, here’s my lesson of the day… Partner with a human (or better yet, a dog) that has your best interests at heart. If you feel the same way about them, you’ve got a good match. If not, RUN.



Q Okay, the question of the day is from Shep who asked: I’m a vegan. Yea, I’m a dog that prefers only vegetables. Is this okay?

Dear Shep:
It’s okay to like vegetables but for a balanced diet, ask your humans to discuss the best source of protein and a good dog food to get it. Veggies are good for canines (in small daily quantities) except avoid onions, broccoli, potato peelings, garlic or the icky green parts of tomato plants or rhubarb leaves. Also humans, don’t forget that dogs should not have raisins, grapes or fruit seeds.