Still (and, I'm guessing, permanently) blind as a bat, his awareness on all other fronts has become remarkably acute. He makes his way through the house and yard with his keen snout pressed to the ground, his ears poised so he can hear me yell "Careful!" He never mastered "Down!" or "Come!" but his strong instinct for survival has given him a renewed aptitude for complex vocabulary. He feels his away along uncharted paths, using his front paw as a blind man might use a cane, and, well, as for taste, he'll eat pretty much anything that isn't nailed down, so no worries there.
Now that he appears to be adjusting to his new, somewhat impaired existence, I've decided it's time to revisit the issue of his diet. He has suffered so much significant loss in the past month -- Leo, his eyesight -- that I haven't had the heart to yank the treats. But the steroids he's taking in a futile attempt to restore his sight are making him fatter than ever, and the last thing I need is a blind, incontinent dog with diabetes and other weight-related illnesses. Even Manny, with his heightened senses, will be stymied by heart disease.
So, yesterday, I bought about five pounds of frozen green beans. Like I said, Manny's not too picky in the taste department; heck, a guy who thinks the crotches of gently worn panties are a delicacy can't balk at a vegetable. Especially if he can't even see it's green.
But then came the news from Europe, that they're fairly certain the recent deadly e coli outbreak resulted from contaminated German vegetable sprouts. I realize my frozen Bird's Eye veggies are probably not Deutsche beans, but they are veggies all the same, and veggies are susceptible to all sorts of bacteria -- not to mention lethal chemicals. I started to rethink Manny's diet, weighing the risk of contamination against the risk of a bit (okay, a lot) of extra weight. I don't know much, but I am almost positive that nobody has ever died from contaminated chocolate. (Yes, I know dogs should not eat chocolate; I only raise it as an example.)
Then, of course, there's the issue of Manny, um, eliminating waste in the house. It's been two whole days since his last accident, and I fear that a diet high in green beans might loosen things up a bit. Who needs that shit (so to speak)?
Everything in moderation, I suppose. A few beans might do Manny some good, but an occasional chewy bone will put a smile on his little face, and, for a guy who's hit such a rough patch, that just seems to make good sense.
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