If you are vegan, you know you love your dogs if you bravely march up to the meat counter at your neighborhood grocery to ask for raw cow bones. Foster mom has never done this before, but after much reading and convincing by various dog trainer and vet friends, I finally buckled. I went to our closest Central Market and bought a six-pound femur bone. It was totally disgusting — covered in little bits of fat, meat, and other inner nasties — but in a weird way, totally satisfying, too.
The Dude got to come home in between his two back-to-back heartworm shots to cuddle up on the couch with his Chick and some blankets, and I felt like buying him a delicious and heroic treat to celebrate. Plus, it’s Valentine’s Day. And to a dog, what says “I love you” better than a six-pound raw cow bone? I had visions of the two boys being happily reunited for the night, and then peacefully gnawing on their bones in the living room, forgetting about all of their troubles.
Unfortunately, the plan didn’t work out quite so. Chick was excited to see the Dude only until he realized that there was a cow bone in the house, in which case his mind went completely blank except for the bone – the bone – the bone – thebonethebone – THEBONE.THEBONE.THEBONE.
Dude, on the other hand, wasn’t excited to see the Chick OR the bone — the combo of the heartworm injection and the pain and anti-inflammatory meds have made him totally drowsy, mopey, and without an appetite.
All in all, we’re just happy to be together. Wishing you plenty of togetherness on this Valentine’s Day, too.
Love and a Six-Foot Leash 
Great to see him home again! Poor thing!
Ostrich thigh bones are also great – not sure about where you are, but here you can get them at most vet stores. They are huge but a little less gross 🙂
Hope he feels better for a night’s rest on his comfy couch.
Poor dude. Hope he gets better soon.
I am living in South Korea now but consider AZ home. One day I thought I would buy Tadhg a bone from a butcher, who knew the price for one bone just the size if my hand would be $60.00 and this was totally stripped of any shred of meat or chewy bits. I decided that was too much for such a small chewy adventure. I guess here bones are very important, I’m sure they are not meant for dogs.
I hope Dude feels better soon and is able to enjoy the delicious bone. Ear scratches for everyone!
Aww poor guy, at least he got to spend some time at home, and chick got to enjoy some bone. Happy Valentine’s Day!
What’s that about “best laid plans”? Happy Valentine’s Day to your pack – eapecially sith you battling the heart bugs! We send you many healing thoughts!
Awww, what a nice surprise for chick… and huge aWWWWwwww for poor dude. Hope he feels better soon.
Way to go you for getting a raw bone!!!! So proud! You really don’t want to know what I was brought home this weekend for my pups. I am probably one of the few vegetarians that will butcher animals with no hesitation. I think this still surprises my husband, but I hate to see things go to waste when I have 2 dogs that will happily eat it.
A note about the cow bones since i have learned a ton lately about raw feeding and been reprimanded about my venison bones. I would not let him chew too much on the bone as cow weight bearing bones are some of the most dense/hard bones (second to buffalo) bones around and have been known to fracture teeth. So once he gets the meaty/stringy parts off I would watch and when he starts to crack into some of it take it away. Ribs in a big set are often easier for them. Or what they call Ox Tails (really beef) as they have more meat to them. Other than that it is hard to find good meaty beef bones. But I am sure he would love a turkey neck or wing to chew on?
Hope you are doing well, we sure love seeing Burns bring their GSP puppy to our kennel for boarding. She is a sweetheart, you would love her.
Anna
http://www.akginspiration.com
Poor Dude….you guys are awesome
Your Valentine from Chick is probably gonna be runny poops…eep!
Well, your intentions were good! Chick is happy….just wish the Dude was equally excited. He’s a tired pup – what a face! Oh well….when he’s all better (and he will be 100% soon!!) you can try this celebration again. Happy Valentine’s Day to you, your hubby and the pups!
Izzy loves the shin bones from the butcher, we’ve never tried a knuckle bone though!
Feel better Dude! Izzy is feeling a bit under the weather today too for some reason…sympathy pains??
Wouldn’t it be fantastic if world peace was as easy as a dog with a cow bone?
Aww…. he looks soooo awww….
But way to go with the bone! I am a vegetarian but I do feed my cats (dead) chickens and mice…. The first time I was like urghhh but when I saw the joy of the cat playing and eating the animals the urghhh feeling went away. My dogs are to small to eat a bone like that though! But they get raw meat, I respect the fact that I am living in a house with real meat-eaters, especially the cats 🙂
Poor Dude!!! I hope he keeps on fighting and feels better very soon!!
Okay, that bone looking absolutely disgusting. I don’t eat meat either, and I’d have trouble handling it for sure.
Sorry Snickerdude wasn’t in the mood for his treat. Hope Chick enjoyed. Spend the day cuddling up and enjoying the love!
Awww…look at the Dude! Poor guy…I hope he’s feeling better soon. Chick is definitely a happy camper with that bone. 🙂 Happy Valentines Day!
Aw! Poor Dude! He looks so sad and pathetic! I’m glad Chick enjoyed his bone though. I’ve never gotten one either, (the vegetarian in me just can’t seem to get over it!) but I’ve also heard rave reviews of them.
I feel so bad for the Dude – he looks so sad. 😦 This article, though, piqued my curiosity – how to vegetarians/vegans feed their dogs? Do you feed them meat based food or do you put your dogs on a vegan diet with an occasional meaty treat? I’m a self-loathing meat eater and always wondered how I would address my animals needs if I ever cut meat completely from my diet.
I do know vegans/vegetarians who feed their dogs vegetarian diets. I don’t do this– most research suggests that while dogs can survive on a vegetarian diet, it’s not good for them. Soy is the main protein source in most vegetarian dog foods, and soy has been shown to be pretty terrible for dogs’ digestion and behavior (in some reputable studies, it has been linked to aggression). I try to buy high-quality, meat-based food and try to look for brands that are both good for the dogs and made by companies that have at least somewhat higher ethical standards for ingredient sourcing. And when I can supplement their diets with meat byproducts (bones and other ingredients that do not DRIVE the animal agriculture industry but rather are leftovers from it), I feel good about doing that, too.
Poor baby! I hope he feels better at least in time to get a taste of the bone. 🙂 Its cute to hear that Chick was excited to see Dude. Thats awesome. 🙂
Poor guy, I hope he feels better soon! As for Chick, I hope he gets to enjoy more of these treats! Virtual hugs and kisses going his way…well, for both handsome guys = )
Aw Dude! He looks slightly stoned…like another “The Dude” some of us may be familiar with 😉
I hope he gets well soon. In that last photo, the Dude definitely looks high as a kite and I hope he’s not in too much pain.
Props to you for getting that bone though.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Chick is to bones as Stevie was to swimming!
hope the dude feels better soon. It’s nice to snuggle pets when they’re sick but it’s still so sad.
Aw! The poor guy looks so pittiful! Feel better Dude!
gentle pats and hugs for that baby. Hoping he starts to feel better soon.
Dude looks so dopey!
I’m vegan and my pup is raw-fed, so yayyyy for you taking the plunge!
Poor little Dude — hope he feels better and will chow down on his own knuckle bone very, very soon.
Poor zombie Dude, hope he feels better soon!
Maggie & Duke are as obsessive as Chick when they have bones. We usually get beef marrow bones that are about 3-4 inches long. Once the marrow is gone we fill the bones with peanut butter since Duke destroys Kongs in minutes.
poor dude just looks like he wants to conk out. when do you think he will perk up? as soon as the bone is gone, i’m sure chick will settle in for some snuggles and make him feel better 🙂
Aw I feel so bad for the Dude! my pits are sending get well prayers his way! woof!
Just popping in to say I hope the Dude feels better soon.
Chick was just doing his duty and enjoying that bone enough for the both of them.
Aww, so glad that Chick enjoyed his bone … but poor little Dude … he must be feeling yucky if a marrow bone didn’t cheer him up. Hoping he feels better soon.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
feel better sweetie
Happee Valentine’s Day
Benny & Lily
really nothing says “i love you” like animal bones to a dog. i suppose if you’re vegan though, as long as you are making the right source decisions, it isn’t too much of a leap to feed your dog meat, right? after all, we are a different species from them.
snickerdoodle, you look really doped up and we hope you feel better soon.
You are a good Vegan momma!!! Poor doodle. Hugs from Petunia and her crew.
At least you got both dogs back for Valentine’s! My Frenchie, Stitch, send you all his grunts & snorts (which he lets me know, stands for hugs & kisses in human speak)!
Poor Snickerdoodle, what a heart-breaking photo. I hope he feels better soon. I feel the same way about buying meat and bones (my family and I are vegetarian)–it totally grosses me out. But it’s worth it to see the joy it brings Cabana.
Poor pup. 😦 I hope he feels better! And I can also COMPLETELY relate about buying gross meat-related things for my dogs/cats (I’ve been a vegetarian almost 15 years). What we do for love!
OH my gosh, when we had our pit bulls (shoog and daisy) we would go to the big apple and ask for left over rib bones and we’d give them to the dogs…. man oh man did they love those!! They were always a hit at our house, and the joy it gave us to see how much they loved them was priceless!
cindie
Aww, what a great gift. Nothing quite melts your heart like watching your pup’s eyes grow to twice the size of their face as their nose sniffs out a real raw bone! “Bacon eyes”, I call them 🙂 Too bad Dude wasn’t feeling up to gift of universal dog elation!
I am sorry to hear you say-in a comment above-that you do not support animal agriculture, because that means you do not support me, my livelihood, or my passion (and you haven’t even met me!). Just like pit bulls, we cattle folks (and all other livestock-raising agriculturalists) have a long uphill battle of fighting off some serious misconceptions & unfair judgements. Maybe that common thread is what drew me to foster my first & current pitbull Lola, and in turn led me to your blog several months ago. It is probably also why I am so saddened to see agriculture bashing go on on a blog dedicated to shed light on a group cast out by our country’s latest news & culture. Pits & farmers used to have a lot more respect and trust; I hope both are able to get it back in the near future.
On a bright note, I applaud you for researching the diet of your dogs and putting their health above your own personal beliefs on food. That has to be an enormous challege & really shows your dedication to having them around for a long, happy, bacon-eyed life. 🙂 Cheers to a knuckle-boned Valentine’s Day, Chick!
Poor Dude! I hope he is feeling better since Valentines Day. He looks so sad. He will feel better soon. You had such a great idea to get him something special. Chick looks so happy with the bone.
Like you said atleast you were all together!
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