When Gravy Train is not enough

Here’s a piece in the New York Times about Americans buying gourmet food for their dogs.  The Times mentions “Roasted turkey with butternut squash and russet potatoes” and banana yogurt health bars among the popular  new offerings.

I look at my own dog and reflect: She has been known to consume nuggets of cat feces from the litter box, lightly coated in Fresh Step. She licks at all manner of unidentifiable substances in the street. About the only thing she won’t ingest is microwave popcorn. So when I’m looking for ways to stretch our grocery dollars, I have to choose carefully: the roasted turkey, the health bars — or the 50-pound bag of Ol’ Roy?

I realize that Times trend pieces tend to distort reality, identifying Next Big Things in isolated outrageousness. But if this is even close to true — if people really are buying $3.30-a-bottle “mountain spring water” for their mutts — then I think we’re looking at a national security issue. Much of the Muslim world already hates us. Do we really want Canadians hating us too? Word gets out that American pets are eating better than people, and that’s the risk we run.