Why didn't she SAY something?

I made the most gruesome discovery yesterday. I am embarassed to even blog about it, but the more I think about it, the more I feel I need to express it for healing purposes.

I have been starving my poodle. Yeah, Missy, the one that is my blog model. I guess watching one's food intake is something models do; however, Missy isn't exactly ready for Victoria's Secret or Sports Illustrated. She is more about home decor and golden horseshoes. It all began about a month or so ago when I started shopping at a different grocery store. This different grocery store happened, one day when I ran in for a coupla things, have their entire Columbia Sportswear line on sale for like 75% off. Needless to say, I was all about it. I started going to that store thereafter just to see if there was more Columbia on sale. Oh, I realize it was a little ridiculous, but the bargains were fantastic! Cool shirts and sweats and polar fleece... it went on and on until I had myself convinced this was my *new* store for grocery (and Columbia bargains) shopping.

I may have mentioned the poodles...we have 2 of them, Missy and Mr. P. I wanted Labs but H is afraid of bigger dogs so somehow I got rooked into poodles. Actually, they are really wonderful dogs...you just have to treat them like Labs so they don't learn to act all poodle-y. Our poodle Mr. P is a humongous eater. He will eat anything and everything...so he is a very *solid* toy poodle. A bit like a tank, actually. Missy, on the other hand, is one of those dogs that picks at her food and maybe only eats half of it but then has a ton of energy. She is very petite and kicks Mr. P's ass most of the time.

When I began my shopping at the *new* store, I found that the store brand of dog food was significantly less expensive than the usual Purina Small Bites, while still being 100% nutritionally complete. So, in my quest to keep the grocery budget the same with the addition of my Columbia purchases, I began to buy this new dog food for Missy & Mr. P. It seemed that Mr. P, as usual, had no adjustment problems...he dove in just as usual. Missy still seemed to be picking at her food which didn't seem at all unusual. That is, until over the weekend H & I were talking and we found in comparing notes that Missy didn't EVER seem to be eating. I thought he was refilling her dish and he thought I was! We were very concerned. Yesterday, I tried a very high-tech experiment. I put Missy's food in a ziplock bag and smashed the kibbles into smaller bits with a hammer. I then put the *bites* in her bowl. Oh, the guilt! Missy gobbled that food so fast she barely took her nose out of the bowl. Afterwards, she gave this huge burp, drank some water, and gave me a glazed and happy look that said, "You stupid cheapskate, didn't you KNOW that food was too big for me to eat?" Then, as she waited at the sliding door to go out for a poo, she looked back like, "Ya, nice *Columbia* sweatshirt."