Guest Post: Sushi Is For The Dogs

(This is the 2nd in a series of guest posts by Julie)

Thus continues our short series in foods inspired by Virginia. That’s Virginia the person, not Virginia the state. Virginia the person is way cooler. Especially in this heat. And she’s nicer to gay people and doesn’t talk about the War of Northern Aggression all the time. But I digress. Anyway, I was talking on the phone to Virginia about making sushi, and she made a joke about dog sushi. Always be careful when making a joke, like I just neglected to do in the above sentence. The following “food” is what you get when you combine an offhand joke with a magical pot of sushi rice that only increases in volume the more you use (see previous post).

I knew that dogs’ stomachs could digest rice, and I was hoping that the other stuff in it (sugar and vinegar) wouldn’t mess them up. Spoiler alert: it didn’t. I skipped nori altogether to be safer, plus, it’s really expensive in Williamsburg anyway. I started with a bowl of Russell’s uneaten breakfast, Iams ProActive, purchased in bulk.

I know what you’re thinking- how could it get any better than this? Well, let me tell you. I took the day-old sushi rice from the fridge and wrapped these babies up. A little bit of finger water helped everything to solidify. Some mint flavored dog treats provided the perfect garnish. Very easy.

This is my faithful dog Russell, who is very excited to try some international cuisine. He earns his keep by looking cute, keeping the floors cleared of food, and inspiring such terms as sniffy tube and snouty tube.

The anticipation grows as the food gets set on the floor. They’re very good at waiting to eat food. I have them do this trick when I need to prove to somebody that I’ve actually trained them to do something positive- usually after they’ve been bad. So, this happens a lot.

Here’s a closeup of Russell’s mom, Piccolo. This is the moment when I learned that it’s actually really hard to get a good shot of a dog eating. Perhaps such a thing does not exist.