Just like the eagle in James Aggrey’s famous story who was raised as a chicken but ultimately flew high into the sky when prompted by a naturalist, a purported “vegetarian” dog ended up eating meat on national television, just minutes after her owner steadfastly claimed that she prefers eating vegetables.
According to Metro, U.K. woman Lucy Carrington switched her female husky, Storm, to a meat-free diet earlier this summer after she started to tire of her previous diet. As Carrington was of the belief that Storm wanted to go vegetarian, she began to serve the animal meatless dog food and leftover vegetables instead of her usual meals.
Much as Carrington insisted to This Morning host Eamonn Holmes that Storm had become a vegetarian dog, the animal almost instantly walked toward a bowl of meat and began eating, and as Metro noted, didn’t pay much attention to a nearby bowl of carrots and peas.
“Oh, you little. I didn’t swear. In fairness the weather has cooled down quite dramatically,” said Carrington after she was surprised to see Storm eagerly consume the bowl of meat while ignoring the vegetables.
“During the summer months, she just went off her food, strangely. I’m certainly not one of those, I’m not [a] vegetarian. I’m not a vegan, far from it, though I’ve reduced my meat consumption.”
Carrington justified her choice of feeding her dog vegetables by saying the switch was just temporary, explaining that it was merely for health reasons. According to the Daily Mail, she added that she wouldn’t want to force anyone else to go vegetarian because she’s had many “debates” with her in-laws, who are both vegetarians, and also because her family, in general, has a preference for burgers and sausages.
After Lucy Carrington concluded her appearance on This Morning by promising to switch Storm back to a meat-based diet, viewers criticized the “vegetarian” dog’s owner, with some going as far as to accuse the woman of animal cruelty. As shown in the Daily Mail’s report, one social media user called Carrington a “stupid, careless owner,” while another accused her of punishing her dog when she clearly prefers meat.
Although many of the viewers who criticized Carrington noted that dogs are carnivores, veterinarian Scott Miller explained on This Morning that dogs are by nature omnivorous, meaning they can consume both meat and plants or vegetables alike. However, he also stressed that dogs have a natural need to eat meat, and should not be deprived of the chance to eat meat because they aren’t normally able to choose their diet.