Charcoal Junkie

I walk into the small pet supply store with Willie on a short lead, still searching for a simple black sweater to replace the one he lost a few weeks back on our very first off-lead walk in the woods.  The pretty young sales clerk shows me a line of canine outerwear but I’m distracted by crunching sounds near my feet; I look down I see Willie munching a dog snack he filched from a nose level display of biscuit baskets.  I apologize and assure the clerk I’ll purchase the stolen treat.  “Oh, that’s alright,” the girl says, laughing.

A closer look reveals that Willie passed over the biscuit baskets labeled “chicken” and “beef” and has instead chosen “charcoal.”

A charcoal flavored treat?  What just charcoal taste like?  And isn’t that what hospitals administer in liquid form for a drug overdose or alcohol poisoning?  Why would anyone – or anything – choose to eat charcoal?

“Well, I know it’s good for their teeth,” the girl explains.

Two days later Richard is walking through the house looking for Willie.  “You know where I just found him?” Richard asks, carrying the dog into the office.  “He was in the fireplace.  He walked behind the fire screen and was standing in there, eating charcoal and looking out at me through the mesh.”

Settled comfortably in Richard’s arms, Willie is wagging his tail and licking his chops.  Is he a charcoal junkie?

Wait a minute: there’s a reason pet stores sell charcoal biscuits.  Could charcoal improve Willie’s dog breath?  One web search later, I read a post from a veterinary assistant who says activated charcoal is considered a good “system cleaner,” found in many dog treats and is sold over the counter to aid in digestion and prevent excess flatulence.

Bottom line?  It appears it’s no biggie if Willie eats charcoal – just as long as we keep him away from those petroleum-treated “quick start” barbecue briquettes…something we humans should probably avoid as well.