The Reacher Diet

Reacher would never turn up his nose at his bowl of dog food, but his tastes are more far-ranging than the Natural Balance Fish and Sweet Potato grain-free kibble I provide every day. He likes to occasionally snack on a variety of natural “supplements” Mother Nature offers.

I don't believe the things Reacher eats - grass clippings, various leaves, weeds and pinecones, for example, are meant for canine consumption, but Bear Grylls, host of Man vs. Wild, might disagree. I imagine  him advising that all those things (and a lot more) could actually provide life-saving nutrition if a dog or his best friend were ever stranded in some inhospitable wilderness.

 

Of course, this isn’t the case with Reacher. He just roams the backyard.

Reacher is also partial to camellia buds and blossoms that hang from the three bushes in my yard each winter. Nasturtiums are sometimes used in salads, so maybe Reacher is onto something.

He has also consumed his share of mushrooms. The first time I saw him snatch and swallow one I rushed to the computer, Googled “mushrooms and dogs” and found one dire report after another. I imagined we’d soon be on our way to the emergency veterinary hospital where it would cost thousands of dollars to save my Boxer boy’s life. But that never happened.

In fact, Reacher hasn’t suffered at all from his odd diet. So, I’ve stopped worrying about his eating habits for the most part. If Bear Grylls can eat ant larvae and maggots, what’s a pinecone or two?