My Diet in Cuenca by Star

I eat differently here in Cuenca than I did in the States. There is no holistic dog food here to supplement my normal diet and our stuff is still in storage in the States, so we don't have my vitamins... so, as usual, mom has been worried that I'm not getting enough of the 'right things.'

She's always trying to sneak in veggies with my chicken or beef, but I have the most dexterous tongue in the planet. I can skillfully scoop out the veggies to the side no matter how small or smashed they are. I have no idea why mom insists in having me show her how good I am at picking what I want to eat and leaving what I don't like behind... and sometimes she almost ruins a perfectly yummy meal with her additions of 'good for me' stuff...

Take today for example, I thought her culinary skills had disappeared overnight. She feeds me scramble eggs for breakfast a couple of times a week depending on how much I ate or didn't eat the night before. I'm hungry every morning so I have no idea why she won't give me my eggs every day. Oh well... today I was especially hungry and when I started eating my delicious eggs I go 'crunch, crunch'.... What the heck? I look at my plate and can't really see anything other than the egg and a bit of delicious cheese she added as a bonus... I look at her to see if I can gather what's wrong with my eggs and she starts laughing. I assume she was laughing at dad and because I'm too hungry I finish my crunchy eggs... Crunchy eggs? Still puzzled I go lay down... Hmm ... Then I learn that she was reading a post of her friend Vickie from Vilcabamba who fed her dogs egg shells last night! So that was the crunch! My dear mom also decided that I needed calcium and added some egg shells to my perfectly good eggs!

Vickie has had other ideas which at first I thought were a bit crazy, but that turned out to be pretty good. These crunchy eggs are definitely not included... For example, she feeds her dogs, Bear and Amber, raw chicken feet! Yes, you heard me right. Of course, mom decided that she too was going to give me raw chicken feet; she can't stand to look at these things and much less touch them, so she had dad cut the claws... I heard some commotion going on in the kitchen and suspected that was nothing good, so I went to the garden to play with my toys.

After a few minutes and just when I thought I was safe mom showed up with her arm stretched out and with this thing dangling of her hand. She gingerly placed it in front of me. When she first gave it to me I had no idea what to do with this thing. I looked at her saying: 'And, what is it that I am supposed to do with this thing?' Mom said 'yummy' in a way that I could not believe for a second and she immediately hid her face behind that thing that goes, 'click, click, click'. I still had no clue...

After a while though I smelled this thing a bit and finally figured out I was supposed to eat it. Once I tried them I realized that raw chicken feet are a true delicacy. I think I'm becoming the doggie version of Andrew Zimmern.

But not all my food here in Cuenca is bizarre, I do get my raw hide bones although mom didn't use to give them to me in the States. And, for dog treats I eat 'Rosquitas' or miniature 'Roscas." These are delicious and mom buys them by the bag at a tiny bakery downtown. They are a bit like a pretzel, just yummier.... they are like an inch around and have no sugar. And, they are crunchy without the egg shells! I just love them...

So, you see, when it come to food, all is well in Cuenca. But, Vickie, if you are reading this, can you please quit the experimenting? Why do you think Amber and Bear wanted your Chicken Alfredo Florentine last night?