Food, glorious food. A hot fudge sundae. Broiled lobster, dripping with butter. Fettucine Alfredo. Another hot fudge sundae. Eggs Benedict. Bacon. Waffles. Maple syrup. I love food, I do. This diet I've been on for a couple of months now is getting very, very old.

I keep thinking how awful it would be to wake up in the middle of the night and realize I'm having a heart attack and dying and my last thought is, Damn! I wish I'd had that piece of chocolate lava cake.

Dieting means you've got to read the labels on things.

More importantly, you've got to know what the things really are. And when it comes to pet food, this is tricky. For instance, you see a phrase like "meat and bone meal". That sounds okay, doesn't it? In fact, according to the USDA, meat and bone meal can legally consist of ground up dead animals, including road kill and dead pets from your local animal shelter. And probably does.

What about BHA and BHT? They're preservatives, we all know that. But what I didn't know was that they've been proven to cause liver and kidney failure in dogs and cats. They're carcinogens, as well. Even so, you find them in almost every pet food, wet and dry. Are they in your pet's food?

Apparently, dogs and cats have the genetic potential to live well into their twenties. Yet most die between the ages of 12 and 15. Is it because we're lovingly and unwittingly feeding them to death?

You can watch a really interesting video on this topic at www.HealthyPetNet.com

They sell pet food, but you can always turn off when you get to the commercial. The video is is full of information, and I found it a real eye-opener. I've sent away for a free sample of their product, but whether or not Bao will deign to eat it is another story!