Douglas R. Skopp
Sitemap
Contact Author
Read
Reviews
Books
· Shadows Walking, A Novel
Short Stories
· Details
· Byron Luckipaw, the cat who established the first Scenic Over-look
· Frou-Frou, the cat who supported the French Revolution
· Amber, the cat who opposed stir-fried breakfast cereal
· Thunder-and-Lightening, the cat who completed the Lincoln Tunnel
· Junius Flavius Albanius, the cat who invented the letter “u”...
· Indigo, the cat who encouraged Christopher Columbus
· Schmutzy, the cat who confounded hostile aliens from outer space...
· Ludmilla and William the Conqueror
· Gussie, the cat who domesticated lettuce
Articles
· Remarks at the Dedication Ceremony of the Holocaust Memorial Gallery
· Holocaust Fatigue
· Remarks at Memorial Ceremony for Victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks
· Why did I write Shadows Walking?
· Where fiction and history overlap...
|
|
Douglas R. Skopp, click here
to update your web pages on AuthorsDen.
|
|
Armina, the cat who invented canned dog-food
By Douglas R. Skopp
Posted: Saturday, October 27, 2012
Last edited: Saturday, October 27, 2012
This short story is rated "G" by the Author.
 Share
 Print
 Save
 Become a Fan
|
Recent stories by Douglas R. Skopp
· Details
· Byron Luckipaw, the cat who established the first Scenic Over-look
· Frou-Frou, the cat who supported the French Revolution
· Amber, the cat who opposed stir-fried breakfast cereal
· Thunder-and-Lightening, the cat who completed the Lincoln Tunnel
· Junius Flavius Albanius, the cat who invented the letter “u”...
· Indigo, the cat who encouraged Christopher Columbus
>> View all 11
|
|
|
Another in my series, "Little Known Cats Who Have Helped Humankind." I wrote these to relieve the darkness of writing my dark novel, Shadows Walking, about a Nazi doctor...
Armina was a red tabby of modest means and without much formal education who lived during the early fourteenth century in the eastern regions of the Holy Roman Empire. When she invented canned dog-food, an entirely different relationship became possible among cats, dogs and their human hosts. Armina was tired of having to wait under the table with the household’s dogs for scraps of food to fall. Too often the dogs got the best pieces. When Armina did manage to catch a chunk—usually near the children’s feet—she would have to swallow it quickly and invariably developed indigestion. If only the dogs could be distracted.
Seeing the difficulty her host family had in putting on and taking off their armor, Armina reasons that the dogs could be slowed down if their food was similarly packaged. With the help of the village’s blacksmith, who coincidentally had invented a can opener, Armina devised the first can of dog food. The scheme worked wonderfully. The family’s dogs were clumsy and slow in opening their cans of food and became more docile as they sat in the corner of the kitchen, gnawing on only pieces of iron out of desperation. Humans found they liked the quieter meals, to say nothing of the chance to pick up the scraps they dropped before the dogs got them, and let Armina have an ample share out of gratitude. Unfortunately, the smithy patented Armina’s idea and became wealthy, while Armina died in poverty.
|
| Web
Site: Shadows Walking, A Novel
|
|
|
|
|
|
