Tuesday, January 13, 2026
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Dog Food

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lee pitts

Tico writes a column for the Citizen’s Gazette of Burnett, Texas, which is amazing because judging by his picture in the paper, Tico is a dog. Tico says there are 100,000 cases of pet poisoning per year and these aren’t homicides… the pets are offing themselves by eating dangerous foods. Tico found a list on the Internet from a web site called Embrace that listed the top 20 foods that dogs, like Tico, shouldn’t eat. They included such things as sugar, macadamia nuts, coffee and corn cobs.

Of all my dogs I’ve ever owned not one had a Starbucks habit or had any use for corn cobs. I only had one dog killed by food and that’s the one who got creamed by a bull while he was gnawing on an old cow chip. But that’s hardly a poisoning. I did know a Lab who was owned by the looniest lady on earth who overdosed on a bag of chocolate eclairs once but it was an attempted suicide. If I had to live with that crazy woman I’d have killed myself too.

I am a firm believer that animals know what’s best for them. The only species that doesn’t apply to is the dog. They are picky eaters… anything they can pick up they will eat. They’ll eat anything with great gusto and enthusiasm!  Now that we aren’t killing horses anymore for dog food, the dogs have had to find alternative foodstuffs; like lizards, spiders, rats, mice, bobcats and mountain lions. Although eating cats is VERY dangerous. My Grandma’s Chihuahua named Chiquita tried to eat one of Grandma’s beloved cats and let me tell you, Grandma squashed Chiquita like a banana.

I don’t want to make light of a serious subject so as a public service I’d like to name the rest of the foods dogs shouldn’t eat. First on the list is chocolate. I feel bad about this because we used to feed Tootsie Rolls to a Beagle as a kid and it was actually pretty hilarious. But it didn’t die from eating chocolate. It was a Buick. A 1964 model I believe.

The number two food poison for dogs is raisins and they can cause kidney failure in dogs, although I’m sure they wouldn’t kill the wolves who’ve been eating your lambs and calves. (Wink, wink.)

Mushrooms are next on the list which explains the times you called your dog and it didn’t come. He or she was probably having a psychedelic experience and didn’t want to interrupt. For some dogs that’s the only trip they’ll ever get to take. A sweetener called xylitol is fourth on the list followed by chewing gum, vitamins, and, get this, bones. I don’t agree with the last item because when my wife worked at the grocery store she would frequently bring home big bones for our dog Aussie, and her coat never looked shinier. Although I should warn owners of little dogs, if your dog does choke on a ham hock you may have to perform the ham-lick maneuver.

I’ve already mentioned macadamias, sugar, bread, coffee and corn cobs but we can also add cookie dough and cake, especially birthday cake for any dog past its 20th birthday. A 20 year old dog is living on borrowed time and isn’t going to last much longer anyway, cake or no cake.

I believe the person who came up with this list was a vegetarian because #17 is meat and #18 is rawhide. Are you kidding me? Perhaps they were referring to the lesser meats such as sushi, cod, halibut and salmon (#19 on the list.) They did say that lean meat is okay if it is properly cooked. Heck, I can’t even get that in my house so what chance does a dog have? Dogs are drinking out of the toilet and eating fresh cow pies and the veg heads are worried about a little gristle. What do they think dogs ate before humans started feeding them pureed peas?

Last on the list is avocados. Our dogs Misty and Cindy wouldn’t come within 100 yards of an avocado tree because the overripe ones would splat on the ground and no dog wants it to say on its obituary that it was killed by an avocado.

I think that comes to 19 dangerous foods and I bet you’re wondering, what did I leave off? It was #9: chicken.  We had a dog once that ate the neighbors hens and the chicken didn’t kill it. The neighbor did. Take it from my dead dog, eating too much chicken can be deadly. Eat beef.
wwwLeePittsbooks.com

I remember: What we can  “discover” about America

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By Doris Schroeder

Although there is some discrepancy about the national “Columbus” Day, it does seem it is good to remember all the “good things” about America that each of us have encountered.

Contrary to those who say America is not as good as some say it is, I am proud to be an American and truly appreciate the fact that my ancestors came from other countries in the right way and did their best to get used to and operate in this land where we have the right and freedom to do so. It bothers me when people run our country down and how they advocate to take away our rights to freedom.

I have read about some of the difficulties my great grandparents had as they made the trip to America. It is hard to imagine coming to a foreign land where you cannot understand the language or laws, where the land is still undeveloped and you absolutely start from scratch.  They came and looked at the land between Hutch and Buhler and it was still about all in prairie grass, just after the great Grasshopper Plague of 1874. Yet they persevered until they got it right. This they did, even though they lost two sons on the way over to America.

Later, my great grandfather became a minister and an evangelist. His oldest son George, my grandfather, enjoyed the earlier days having the freedom to start many different businesses around Kansas and even a short while in California. As I look back, he must have been like a child in a candy store, enjoying the fact that he had the freedom to do that without too much red tape.

My Dad was the same way. He had enjoyed trying different occupation, school teacher, some preaching, farmer, book keeper, defense plant worker, filling station owner, and  other things along the way. He even almost got his college degree through different times of schooling.

Through it all, each one of them loved the fact they lived in America where opportunities abound. They especially appreciated the fact they could worship the one true living God in the way they saw fit. As the years went by they could study the Bible as much as they wanted and learned many new truths from their study. I know I never heard any of them lament the fact they lived in America.

Did they have hardships? You better believe it.  First of all, my parents  lost all the money they had painstakingly saved when the banks crashed. This was from both teaching school. Then my Dad wanted to attend a seminary but when they got there, he was told that at 32, he was too old. My parents lost their oldest daughter (just out of kindergarten) when a neighbor boy had carried in his Dad’s hunting gun for him and played like he was going to shoot. Only the gun was still loaded! Since I , at three and a half, observed the whole thing, it started my mind working at an early age. I remember wondering about some of the important things of life. Still, I never heard my parents make any unkind remarks about the one who shot her but they took it as something God would work out.

My Dad would take me to the Hutch Library in the evening after work sometimes and read the Hutch newspaper, which he really enjoyed. I would quietly walk around and look at pictures since I hadn’t yet learned to read.

Both sets of grandparents could barely speak English but they did their best.

I know I felt their love of living in America. They knew, however, from past experience what it was like where you couldn’t do as you believed. They embraced life in their own way. My grandmothers prayed with such compassion  to God every day in the German language. When I overheard them I knew they were interceding with their whole heart.

In later years, John and I were in the carpet business and were privileged to go on trips to other countries with other carpet dealers. When we landed back in Kansas City, the first thing we would do was go out and buy a bag of McDonald Hamburgers and we felt like kissing the ground because we were back in the good ole USA!

It hurts to see people take these freedoms for granted, for it is a privilege only we who live in America have. We do have the liberty to worship who and how we please because of our country. We can all discover the good things about America and our right to worship the one true living God!

Doris welcomes your thinking and can be reached at [email protected]

Blueberry apple cobbler with almond topping

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Quinn Dombrowski

It?s almost apple season! Research at Cornell University has brought forth two new apple varieties. They are called SnapDragon and RubyFrost. The SnapDragon apple has a crispy texture and sweet flavor which is great for snacking. The crisp juicy flavor comes from the Honeycrisp variety. It is ready in early September with a long storage life. The RubyFrost apple ripens in late fall. It is like an Empire or Granny Smith apple. It boasts a pretty skin and pleasant balance of sugar and acid that is refreshing.

 

The new varieties should be in stores by 2015.

So watch for them next year.

Here is a great apple dessert from our winner of the Champion Pie Tart Fruit Dessert, Marrissa Hurst. She is from Burrton and a member of the Lucky 13 4-H Club.

 

Blueberry Apple Cobbler with Almond Topping

 

2/3 cup sugar

3 tablespoon cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

5 cups blueberries

1 1/4 cups shredded apples

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Biscuit Topping

1 3/4 cups flour

1/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup cold butter cubed

1/2 cup half and half

1/2 cup plain yogurt

1 teapoon vanilla

 

Almond Crumble

1/2 cup sliced almonds, coarsely chopped

1/3 cup flour

1/3 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons butter

 

In a large bowl combine sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add the blueberries, apples, and lemon juice. Toss to coat. Transfer to 2 8×8 baking dishes.

 

For biscuit topping, in a small bowl, combine the almonds, flour, and sugar. Cut in butter until crumbly. Whisk the cream, yogurt, and vanilla, stir into flour mixture just until moistened. Drop by spoonfuls over fruit.

 

For the almond crumble, in another bowl, combine the almonds, flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over top.

 

Bake at 375 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes or until filling is bubbly and topping is golden brown. Cool on wire rack for 30 minutes before serving.

By: Susan Jackson

Herb and Rusty

By
Sandy Pugh
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Sandra Pugh
Sandra Pugh

I first met Herb Parker when I was working as a soda jerk in the old soda fountain in my hometown. He was the delivery man for 7up. He came to town every week and stopped at the gas station, the restaurant and at the soda fountain.

I think he saved the soda fountain as the last stop so he could sit on a stool at the fountain and have a soft drink and tease the soda jerks that were working that day. He was as big a tease as my Dad, but he quickly found out that I could keep up with him, because I had learned from the master.

When we moved to Macksville we discovered that Herb lived there. And coincidentally, his wife ran the soda fountain. Lucy and I became friends right away because of our love of the soda fountain. She also loved the fact that I could keep up with Herb and even pull one over on him now and then.

The salon I worked in was next door to the soda fountain so I spent a lot of time over there drinking cherry cokes with Lucy and plotting against Herb.

Herb and his wife lived north of the soda fountain on main, in a darling little house. They had a huge front yard with one tree in the middle. They never had a good looking yard, and I never understood why until I stopped in one night to visit Lucy.

Herb asked me to come into the kitchen to see his latest batch. I wondered on the way to the kitchen, a batch of what; cookies maybe? When I walked into the kitchen there were bottles everywhere and I discovered he made his own wine.

That night it was rhubarb wine, but he also made dandelion wine. So now I understood the yard full of little yellow flowers. I had never tasted wine, and reluctantly accepted a taste. Besides the fact that the rhubarb was very tart, it felt like fire going down my throat. I felt it hit the bottom of my stomach and then lurch back up my throat to burn its way down again.

I was reluctant to try the dandelion wine, but finally took a sip. It felt like it was eating the lining of my throat as it went down, and it hit my stomach like a ball of fire. A couple sips of his wine hit me like a sledge hammer, and I was glad it was only a few blocks home.

Herb and Lucy had a little Pomeranian dog named Rusty. He was the cutest little red ball of fluff. They would tie him to the tree in the evenings so he could watch the cars drive by. One night while riding around in my white Catalina convertible with a friend, I thought of a way to zing Herb.

We drove up main and there was Rusty sitting by the tree and Herb was no where in sight. I stopped the car and ran up to the tree. Rusty was excited to see me and was leaping as high as he could, wanting me to pick him up.

When I finally managed to catch him in mid jump, I removed his collar and then hooked it back together, and dropped it on the ground and ran towards the car. All the way to the car I had my hands full with a wiggling ball of fluff, who was so excited he didn’t know what to do.

When I got back to the car I tossed Rusty to my friend (the top was down) and slid onto the seat closing the door gently, then pulled away as quietly as I could. Once we were down the street she allowed Rusty to look over the side of the car and enjoy the ride.

He had been with us about 15 minutes, when we met Herb on Main Street in his car. I pushed Rusty down on the floor and held him there with my right hand as Herb flagged us down. Once we were side by side I asked him what was going on. He said that Rusty had gotten out of his collar and was loose. He wanted to know if we had seen him.

Rusty could hear his voice and was really squirming, but I managed to keep him down and fairly quiet. I told Herb we hadn’t seen him but would look for him. We headed on down the street and I let Rusty loose.

We met Herb 4 more times. Each time I would shove Rusty to the floor and hold him there when Herb passed by and I would shake my head and tell him we hadn’t seen him yet.

About 45 minutes after we had kidnapped Rusty we met Herb on Main Street one more time. I had Rusty down on the floor again, but he started to bark and really wiggle around and I couldn’t keep him down. He came bounding up into my lap and put his paws on the window ledge and barked at Herb.

Neither my friend nor I could contain our laughter. It only took a few seconds for Herb to realize we had taken Rusty and had had him all that time in the car. He called us a few choice names, swore revenge and started to laugh as he got out of the car and took Rusty back.

A few weeks later, I left work to go home and my car was not sitting out front where I usually left it. (You never took the keys out of your car in that small town.) I went straight to the soda fountain and started to yell at Herb. He wouldn’t admit to taking it so I had to start looking for it on foot.

I found it parked in the alley behind Herb’s house. When I arrived back at the soda fountain, I put it in park and then revved it up to make the glass packs roar before shutting it off. When I walked in the door Herb was almost rolling on the floor because he had gotten even with me.

Over the next 2 months, even though we tried several times, we only managed to steal Rusty one time. But that time when I got back in the car I really stepped on the gas and the glass packs really roared.

Awhile later we met Herb on Main Street and we stopped to talk to him. He said he knew we had Rusty so I let the red ball of fluff back up on my lap. After a few threats and some laughs Herb got out of his car and took his dog back. We really had fun with Herb and Rusty that summer. To contact Sandy: [email protected]

Cougars fall to conference leading Blue Dragons

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Cougars fall to conference leading Blue Dragons. The Barton Community College Volleyball team woke No. 18 ranked Hutchinson Community College with a first set victory Saturday afternoon at the Barton Gym, but the conference leading Blue Dragons were too much in pulling away with the 3-1 victory.  The Cougars took the first set 25-22 but Hutchinson dominated the next three winning 25-15, 25-19, and 25-15.  The loss drops the Cougars to 3-5 in conference play and 5-19 overall while Hutchinson remains unbeaten in the Jayhawk at 8-0 and 14-6 overall.

“I think we battled well today, but could not keep up offensively,” said Barton Head Coach Phil Shoemaker.  “Hutch has a nice stable of athletes and did a nice job of keeping the pressure on. We were unable to match their pressure, and as we know too well, we cannot win by playing defense constantly. I told the team despite our offensive inconsistency I felt like we had some really good ideas, good effort, but our execution was spotty. Our serving was aggressive for the most part, and we made some very good plays in all aspects of the game, especially defensively. Casey (Friesen), Mykela (Riedl), and Jennica (O’Neill) are providing good leadership for us, and I think the 2nd half of the league schedule will be exciting, and more to our liking.”

Barton will head to Liberal, Kansas, for a 6:30 p.m. conference match Wednesday against Seward County Community College.  Defeating the Cougars 3-1 in late March at the the Barton Gym in the conference opener, the Saints have won five straight to move into a second place tie in the standings at 5-3 and 17-11 overall.

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