Cute, Adorable, Not So Smart. Romero.
My dog, Romero, is not the brightest boy on the block. In fact his tag reads, “Cute, Adorable, Not so Smart,” and it’s totally true. He really let’s his not-so-smartness shine when it comes to food. Or should I say, when it comes to things he eats.
He’ll eat just about anything that smells interesting. When Shauna and I take him to the beach, which is quite often, he gulps down the sea water by the gallons. We’ve tried for 3 years to teach him not to drink the stuff, but without any success. He’ll eat just about anything he finds that seems the least bit intriguing – human food, no matter how old, trees, rocks, all the things listed as hazardous for dogs (avocadoes, dairy products, chocolate, alcohol, etc.), dead and decaying creatures, animal crap . . . You get the idea.
Of course, Romero pays the price for his “adventures in food.”
Ro had the runs bad this weekend. Caught in the act!
Actually, I think Shauna and I pay as well. He usually gets a wonderful case of diarrhea hours after these episodes of eating stuff he shouldn’t. Or he lets out some seriously toxic farts all night long. Of course all of this is accompanied by him feeling pretty crappy and staring at us with a pathetic look on his face all day.
Well, it turns out Romero isn’t really so different that most dogs on this front. They’ll eat just about anything, no matter how gross it makes them feel afterward. If it smells good, they’ll eat it. They don’t seem to learn.
Wait a minute! This behavior sounds an awful lot like a lot of people I know. They eat crap just because it tastes yummy and fills their belly. They don’t think for a second about what it’s doing to their bodies, the lasting consequences, or whether or not it’s healthy. They just eat it.
Filling? Sure. Yummy? Maybe. Nutritious? NO!
“But it tastes so good,“ they say. I think that’s what my dog would say, if he could talk. But he’s a dog and you’re a human – supposedly of greater intelligence. People, unlike dogs, can read the ingredients, and learn what’s good and what’s bad for the human body. People should be able to the make the connection that Romero seems incapable of.
Eat Crap = Pay a Price
Now, we may pay that price immediately – feeling bloated or uncomfortable, or maybe a serious reaction – diarrhea, vomitting, an allergic reaction, or food poisoning. Or, as is more often the case, we pay the price later – gaining weight, diabetes, metabolic disorder, clogged arteries, and lots and lots of medical conditions and bills later on in life.
Come on, people. It’s time to be smarter than dogs. Stop eating things just because they taste good and fill your stomachs. There are things the human body is just not meant to injest. Fast food, processed foods, tons of restaurant foods, and fake foods all fit this description.
Just because it fits in your mouth, tastes good, and you can chew and swallow it, doesn’t make it good for you. It’s time to think about nutrition first. Ask yourself this: What is that food doing for me or going to do to me? This should be your top question when it comes to what you put in your body.
Repeat after me – Nutrition First, then flavorful and filling. Yes, you can have all three of those, but most people are just acting like dogs and settling for flavor and filling only. Be smarter than my dog.
Follow ME!