ChocolateBet: October 18, 2007

Chocolate of the Day:

1/2 bar
Redstone's
Jalapeno Bar (with Peanuts)
Very Good
Weight: 1.5 oz. / 3 oz. total bar
Calories: 220 for 1.5 oz. serving (1/2 bar)
Cost: $4.75
Purchased from: The Texas Store ("Everything in Texas is Bigger"); Austin, TX

This Redstone's Jalapeno milk chocolate bar with salted peanuts was very good. The milk chocolate was good; the salted peanuts added some crunchy texture and helped balance sweet and savory flavors; and the jalapeno pepper gave the bar a bit of a zing.

I'm still in Texas on business. In between meetings and marathon email bouts, I'm eating chocolate (brought from home). I have found some local (Texas) fare. For example, I stopped at Rudy's Barbeque in San Antonio, TX, before driving back to the hotel. The day was sunny and warm, and perfect for eating BBQ outside on a wooden table and bench. Soaked up as many photons as possible.

I happened to read an article in the local paper when I was in the hotel waiting for my computer to boot up - about chocolate and pets. This got me thinking...I need to research this whole topic of chocolate's toxicity as it applies to some of our furry and feathered friends. Stories seem to vary in terms of how toxic chocolate is, in part because it depends on the size/weight of the dog, and the type (cacao content) of the chocolate.

Today's Chocolate-Related News: by BJ Darnell: Chocolate can kill...
Catoosa County News - Ringgold, GA, USA

Halloween is just days away, and you need to think now about the safety precautions you are going to put into place to keep your pet, as well as your children, safe. Rules are the best for everyone when we have people out there who delight in the misfortune of others.

All candy is not created equal, but whether it is artificial or the real thing, chocolate can and will kill your pet. I have people all the time tell me that they give their pets chocolate and it has not hurt them.

Sorry folks! You must have been living right, because you are going to do that once too often and suffer the consequences of your actions.

Dogs especially love chocolate; the more the merrier, if you would believe them. The majority of the time, you are just too late realizing how sick your pet really is and do not make it to the veterinarian in time.

I personally do not think you should even buy treats or chewies that taste like chocolate because it will just cause a drive in your animal to acquire it by whatever means it can.

I have heard stories of animals climbing onto chairs to get to whatever is on the table they smell. Dog need more help, ordinarily, than cats, who can, flatfooted, make the top of the table and the counter in one bound. Remember, candy dishes should have tops and be placed where small children and pets can not have free access to them.