The Mystery of Sancho Brand Dog Food

Grocery shopping in Germany has been a particular challenge for me. There are several reasons I can think of for this. One, I don't have a car, so trying out two stores via rolling cart and subway is a day long affair for my increasingly beluga-whale like self. Second, I am vegan, i.e. no dairy or meat, and these restrictions are a little trickier in Bavaria than in the Bay Area. Third, I have to rely on internet dictionaries and pictures on packages to know what I'm buying. Fourth, and most importantly, the grocery shops here are qualitatively different than those back home. Germany has many discount grocery stores, which are tantamount to T.J. Maxx's with food: while there is an array, you get what you get and there's no predicting it. These places offer great prices, and my ..ahem.. frugal husband loves this. He has declared a trip to ALDI as being a weekly affair and delights in nothing more than asking me what I normally pay for [fill in product] at a normal grocery store. I love saving money, don't get me wrong, but I have also tried to point out that a bargain is a little less impressive when it results in laundry detergent that stings your eyes when opened.

Enter Sancho dog food. We ran out of kibble yesterday, and I didn't have the time or energy to track down a pet store. So we stopped by our local discount grocer, Netto. The only dry dog food brand that Netto carries is Sancho. Incidentally, they have cans of Pablo brand dog food. Both brands are packaged exclusively for Netto, so apparently some ad wiz at that corporation believes strongly that dog food with a Spanish flair with have greater appeal. This food is *really* cheap. It is also multi colored. Our dogs have only ever been fed high quality food, and it was only exhaustion that led to our actually taking the bag of Sancho to the register. We poured a bowl for the dogs when we got home and one of our dogs, Billy, set upon it like I've never seen. He is not a kibble-hound; even other dogs' kibble he is only momentarily interested in. Sancho, however, has turned him into a zombie. He ate and ate until I pleaded with Will to take it away, worried that he'd make himself sick. Once the bowl was gone, Billy stood on alert with his nose pressed to the bag of Sancho, tail wagging furiously, cursing his own canine-related communication limits. The zombie effect lasted all night, causing Billy to pace around the house until finally around 3 am Will took him outside in case he was ill. Not ill, apparently, though his digestion was on overdrive, and he returned ready for more Sancho. This morning we only gave him a small amount. Right now I can hear him whimpering softly for more. What in the world is in this stuff? [note: it might be best that I never answer this question] All I can say is that I am going to a pet store a.s.a.p., buying some kind of doggy health chow that Billy will tolerate, and then my family can start sleeping easy again.