Through the Eyes of a Dog

Casualties of Luna

As I prepare my dinner, Luna, as usual, looks on eagerly. As I'd like to think she's watching intently to be able to some day surprise me by making my chicken casserole recipe from memory, there is a chance she's hoping I drop scraps that she can snarf up. Today, she was extra fascinated with what I was throwing away in the garbage can. As I tossed a bit of enchilada away, she ran over to try to peek inside. Same with the leftover pumpkin pie from Thanksgiving. That made me think--what does she think the garbage can is for? I doubt she knows it's a bin for refuse. The following is an account of what I believe are Luna's definitions for items in my house:

Kitchen garbage can: a large serving bowl filled with a mixture of lots of tasty morsels, all mixed together. A melting pot, if you will of the day's meals. A little hard to reach the food, but in a year or so, it shouldn't be a problem.

Wooden furniture: today I learned that wood makes a great between-meal snack. After getting a nice chunk off a table, something called Bitter Apple was sprayed on it, which ended up not tasting so bad.

The words "Luna, come in the house!": this is usually said with lots of enthusiasm. I have no idea what it means, but the more I run around, the more my owners shout it out, so it must mean I'm doing something good.

Grass: An outdoor treat. I'm very good at pulling it up from the roots.

Ladybugs: Great to watch, terrific to eat.

Stuffed toys: Cotton stuffing wrapped in a tough outer coating. I have gotten good at getting to the goods inside. I'm down to ripping them open within 5 minutes.

My Newest Office Mate

Presenting Luna Miel--my on-task manager.

My husband and I adopted Luna from a DeKalb shelter after seeing her picture on petfinder.com. Having a puppy in the house is like having a newborn baby. My life schedule was put on hold as I needed to be sure I was home to take Luna out every three hours and was pulled every which way as she chased any squirrel we saw on our "walk."

Luna has been a lot of fun, though. She loves to run and hop around the yard, crawl all over us, and play with her toys. She doesn't care if I wear sweatpants all day, "forget" to put on my makeup, or decide to sit at my computer eating a whole bag of candy corn.

But Luna still needs to be watched any time she's out of her kennel, which is how she got assigned the role as my on-task office manager. Often she choses to fall asleep right by my feet as I'm writing. At first this was annoying; if I got up to eat or procrastinate, she would follow me. I was forced to sit there and work if I wanted her to stay asleep and out of trouble. That's when I realized I was actually getting writing done. Regardless to whether I wanted to get up and abandon my computer, it was easier just to sit there and type.

So, two months later, I have a completed novel--a novel that had been stuck in a drawer for a couple of months before I got her. I have no choice than to thank my silly four-legged friend. So, writer friends: are you having trouble sitting down and writing? Adopt a puppy! :)

For those folks that are serious as to wanting to adopt an animal, petfinder.com is a great resource. Something I learned later, however, is that you really should talk with an expert about what kind of dog would be good with your family dynamic.

Environmental Planner: My Second Mission

If you read my last entry, you'll know that I have decided to put in my two cents on how businesses can "green up" their act. My last mission was hotels. Now I'm on to restaurants.


Recently, I was eating at one of my favorite fast food chain restaurants--Chipotle (I can't resist their chips and guacamole). It made me think about how many people must frequent these places every day.


Now, Chipotle is great because their meat is hormone-free. However, they, along with all fast food chains, could use some work on the amount of waste they generate. I think the biggest way to reduce waste would be for them to ask, from the moment they say hello, or in the case of Chipotle, the moment they pull the tortilla out of the tortilla press, "Is this for here or to go?" A "For Here," should require a totally different process of set up.


First, the burrito, burger, sub, etc. would not need to be wrapped up. Instead, it could be put on a reusable plate. Second, any sides of guacamole or salsa could also be put in a little reusable cup instead of one of those plastic cups that's marked that it's recyclable but there's nowhere to recycle it in the store. Same with fries: put it in a reusable dish.


Next, the utensils. We toss so many utensils. And I'll bet sometimes you take a spoon or a knife and never even use it. (Who hasn't?) For eating in the restaurant, metal utensils should be available. (And for To Go'ers, there are those biodegradable utensils made from potatoes.)


Last, so many napkins and condiments get wasted at restaurants. Since most people won't want to get up mid-meal, they "stock up" for the family on supplies before sitting down, taking enough napkins for an army and enough ketchup and salt packets to cover twenty hot dogs and thirty bags of popcorn respectively. Once they've finished their meal, having used four napkins, only two ketchup packets and three salts, they usually toss the rest (what else could you do--take them home in your purse?). Restaurants can solve this problem by having everything on the tables: a napkin dispenser, salt and pepper shakers, and condiments. Now I'm not one for those nasty ketchup bottles; they're the best environmentally but probably not the most sanitary. So I'll let restaurants keep the little packets. Just think, though, how many wouldn't be wasted if they were in a little basket on the table? You use one. It turns out you need a second one--there it is, right there. Same with the salt and napkins.


So, as you can see, there's lots of room for improvement out there. I wonder which fast food chain will be the first to think of this.