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| Zelig knows what Epicurus was talking about! Civilized coffee breaks are a simple pleasure for him. |
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| Cake is a form of bread, right? |
The original Epicureans, readers probably know, were a group
of Greek philosophers. Led by Epicurus and his teachings, they were concerned
with trying to understand the good life. Epicurus taught the importance of
being frugal about things external to the individual (knowing your “point of
enough”), providing for the necessities of life (food to eliminate hunger and
bring enjoyment, shelter, and companionship), putting inner happiness in the
center of life, and working daily to overcome fears and unnecessary desires.
Despite their beliefs about frugality, Epicureans believed that occasional
luxuries should be appreciated to the fullest. They also placed a lot emphasis
on inter-personal relationships above those luxuries.
In other words, Epicurus believed that an individual should live a happy,
self-sufficient life surrounded by friends. He recommended the path of the
small pleasure: “Send me a small piece of cheese, so that I may indulge myself
whenever I wish.”
Humphrey is especially fond of this philosophy. Epicurus had
him at “small piece of cheese,” and Humph was beyond convinced when he heard
“surrounded by friends.”
As a puppy, Humphrey was faced with a seemingly insurmountable
assortment of food intolerances. In fact, he was a vegetarian for quite some
time. The day he arrived in his new home five years ago, the humans made a roast beef dinner
for everyone, reasoning that it would be a pleasing aroma and a nice welcome
for any dog. “It will smell homey,” they reasoned.
The humans quickly noticed something unusual. Upon receiving his first meal, Humphrey picked
at some roasted sweet potatoes, and skipped the meat altogether. Puzzling, they
thought. Is this little fellow a vegetarian?
The next day, he refused all the food they offered him. Late
in the day, he expressed interest in some baked potato chips and milk, but that
was it.
The humans waited and waited for him to eat the high-end,
organic, meat-based dog food purchased from the local pet shop . Humph waited until he was so hungry he couldn’t stand it any longer, then reluctantly
consumed the dog food. What followed was an offending odor from his hindquarters,
uncontrollable heaving, and all sorts of other awful things during the late
hours.
Most days of his puppyhood, Humphrey had no desire to eat. He couldn’t even imagine
Epicurus’ piece of cheese being anything but a source of great discomfort! When
it came to meal time, he would usually hide under the big bed.
After months of trial and error (more error than anyone can
possibly imagine) and in consultation with the vet, he was put on a home-cooked
diet that did not include meat. His people produced all kinds of nutritional charts, and had to work
around a very limited range of ingredients (strawberries, spinach, sweet
potatoes, apples, cottage cheese, yogurt, milk, and fish).
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| Humphrey’s requirements were triangulated among his veterinarian, the Subcommittee on Dog and Cat Nutrition, the Committee on Animal Nutrition, National Research Council’s book, Nutrient Requirements of Dogs and Cats (The National Academies Press, Washington, DC, 2006) and David Basin, Jennifer Ashton and Grant Nixon’s Better Food For Dogs: A complete cookbook and nutrition guide (Robert Rose Inc., Toronto, 2002). Human nutritional requirements were triangulated using the Council for Responsible Nutrition: Recommended Intakes of Vitamins and Essential Minerals (Annette Dickinson, 2002) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and World Health Organization (FAO/WHO) Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) guidelines. |
Over time, Humphrey's range
of food tolerance increased, and all of a sudden his people were eating home-cooked “dog
food”! This is the resulting cookbook that Humphrey put together ...
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