Last night I served 4 portions of dog food to three dogs. 1 purposed to a pupper on one end of the house in the Master bathroom. 3 portions served in the laundry room where the two doggos traditionally eat their dinner. Your goal: Determine who ate the extra portion in the laundry room?
The Timeline and Scene of the Crime: Before letting all three suspects back into the house from a romp around the backyard, I served 3 portions of food in the standard locations. 1/2 portion in the Master bathroom room and 2 full portions in the laundry room. Upon entry, all suspects went immediately to their designated areas, they know what time it is. I witnessed Suspect Baby Shepherd eating her 1/2 portion while I took a quick bath. I thought I had closed the door to the bedroom, leaving Suspect Basset and Suspect Husky to eat their portions in peace; however, that was revealed later to not be the case. She may have exited the bathroom and gone to the laundry room but it would have been brief visits as she was not gone for very long and her initial departure was well into the time Suspect Basset and Suspect Husky would have had to eat. Reasonable assumption, they would have already been done by then. Upon completion of the bath, I heard Suspect Basset whining loudly and consistently which is not entirely abnormal but he is usually satisfied and quiet for some time post-dinner. This is in fact, what tipped me off that something was awry. I found Suspect Husky hovering over the dual feeding device in which his designated bowl was empty; however, Suspect Basset’s bowl was full. One bowl had been eaten entirely and the other left alone. I pulled Suspect Husky away from Suspect Basset’s bowl and Suspect Basset immediately stopped crying, waddled over and initiated consuming his designated kibbles. I refilled Suspect Husky’s bowl and he also initiated consuming his designated kibbles. Suspect Baby Shepherd was fed her second 1/2 portion again in the Master bathroom.
Here’s some witness/character statements and facts to help you determine who you believe the guilty party is:
Suspect Baby Shepherd: has not learned the art of patiently eating, which is why she is fed 1/2 portion in a time-consuming manner (sprinkled everywhere so she has to eat connect-the-dots style). She is a foodie and given opportunity, would absolutely devour all three portions if left unattended. Her indiscretion is actually why she may be innocent. She certainly would not have eaten just ONE of the bowls of food out of the dual feeding device unless given the opportunity and yet one portion was left neatly untouched. Regardless she certainly had a motive and she was given opportunity because the door was not properly secured.
Suspect Basset: eats anything that might have been food at some point. Eat first, ask questions later. This is the 1st law of Basset. This is only negated by the 2nd law of Basset, which is eat what is within reach first. He may be heavy but he wouldn’t be able to bully around another beast of formidable size to get to THEIR food. The heavy and persistent whine traditionally made when “it’s almost dinner time but not quite yet” was aforementioned, apparent and in full-effect. This would lead me to reasonably conclude that he had not eaten yet. Also, it was not his bowl that was empty as Suspect Basset and Suspect Husky have established dominance over “their” bowls. Suspect Basset to the left and Suspect Husky to the right. But you have to keep 1st rule of Basset in the back of the mind and given the opportunity would absolutely have been motivated. Eating is literally the only thing they are motivated to do.
Suspect Husky: is a bit picky and eats according to his whim and thus, does not always eat at “eating time”. Nor does he always eat his full portion as picking up a half-eaten bowl of food after he’s had ample opportunity is not uncommon. In fact, after refilling his bowl the second time, he left 1/2 of the 2nd serving there. This does not stand out as extraordinary. Still, he has always been known to stand guard over his bowl when he is just “not quite ready” to eat. It’s the classic “Well, I’m not going to eat it, but I’m not going to let you eat it either” defense. So again, he was found guarding a bowl of food, just not HIS bowl of food, since it was empty. Did he divert from his traditional Mode of Operation and actually allow one of the other two to eat it at then pout about it or did he not finish the 2nd portion because he was already full? hmmmmmmmmmm
Suspect Kitteh: entirely innocent, caught on camera asleep the entire time.
Why does any of this matter? Why did I, at the time, NEED to figure out this caper? I needed to know which Suspect was going need an extended stay in the backyard least my foot meet OHMYGODWHATTHEBLEEPDIDIJUSTSTEPIN in the middle of the night because someone excitedly and literally gobbled up more than they bothered to chew. 🙅🏼♀️🤢
