Yogurt! Folks seem to love it or hate it.

     “I only eat plain yogurt—on my cereal,” says one friend. 

     “I only eat yogurt with the fruit on the bottom,” says another.

     “Coffee yogurt? Whoever heard of that? Yuck!” is another reaction I sometimes hear, when I announce that I am an afficionado of coffee yogurt—when I can find it.

     Usually, however, the yogurt hater becomes a convert once she or he has tried the coffee variety—when it can be found.

     The local discount all-purpose grocery store carried it when they first opened. I was out of town for a couple of weeks, and it suddenly was no longer on the shelf—like many others of my favorites.

     But I can always find coffee yogurt, summer or winter, in Kilmarnock, at Tri-Star Supermarket. And If I am in Richmond, Mechanicsville or Fredericksburg, I can find it at Ukrop’s, along with many other favorite goodies.
I really like to keep a large container of yogurt, regular, plain, (not fat free, not low fat) in my refrigerator—for my dogs. No, I don’t like it plain, either, even on crunchy cereal. In my household, which I share with too many animals, including my German Wirehaired Pointers, I can’t do without yogurt. Yep. you guessed it, the regular, full fat, plain stuff.

     It cures a wonder of doggy ailments. My dogs like to eat. They like dog food, cat food, food within reach on the kitchen counter, the stove top, dirt, sticks, leaves, flowers, dragonflies, grass...you get the picture. Many of the foods they ingest do not agree with doggy tummies, however.

     When I notice that someone (that’s a dog) has an intestinal upset, due to eating something not so good for him or her, I get out the big container of Plain yogurt, and add a dollop or two on top of the doggy food. If the problem doesn’t clear up quickly then the dog get dollops of yogurt, sans dog food for a day. (If the problem isn’t gone quickly, a trip to the vet is necessary.)

     And I’ve noticed that with cats, a tummy upset requires immediate veterinary attention (unless it’s a hairball or a critter). Cat’s tummies are not as forgiving as dog tummies.

     Sarah, my eleven and a half year old German Wirehaired Pointer, loves to eat grass. She really likes grass. Lots of it, especially when we go for a run, or a swim. She has a strange intestinal system. We can run in the afternoon, she eats lots of grass, then comes home and eats a full dinner. At about 2 a.m. the grass makes a return visit, sans the dog food dinner. She’s as regular as a clock about the time. I have never understood it.

     Recently I added a dollop of yogurt to her evening meal, after an afternoon of swimming and grass eating, and voila! No grass returns, at 2 a.m. or any other time!

     Say what you will, but yogurt is a darn useful food to have around the house. All kinds of it! 

© 2001 Janet Abbott Fast All Rights Reserved