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Showing posts from November, 2010

A Kinder Surprise

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My dog, Milly, and I have a few things in common: we believe a long walk is a daily necessity, good for emptying – she, her bladder, me, my head; forty winks on the couch is so much better when you’ve got each other for a hot water bottle – except on a Melbourne forty-plus killer; we’d sell our souls for a decent backrub; we’re chocoholics; and we love a good novel. The liking for chocolate is a bit of a worry. Though to be truthful, for me it’s an indulgence-slash-addiction I have no intention of ever trying to conquer. To overcome my chocolate habit would be tantamount to donating my tastebuds to science. I’m never doing it. It’s another matter for the dog, however. For her, chocolate, for all its sublime slide-down-your-throat-on-velvet-rollerblades allure, is toxic. Chocolate contains a compound called theobromine – a stimulant and diuretic – which dogs cannot digest. In large enough quantities – and for a small dog this could mean only a few squares of chocolate – it can be f