Overtime

 

The word was “pourover”. It caught my eye in a Facebook advert and set my mind spinning into a sort of dizzying word association game. Why are there so many words that end in “over”?

Voice over

Flyover 

Layover

Do over

Popover

Run over

Hungover

Pushover

Boilover

Stopover

Makeover

Turnover

Takeover

Leftover

Turnover

Holdover

Carryover

Changeover

Spillover

Sleepover 

Rollover

And so on, and so on…

So, pourover. I know what that means. It’s a method of coffee preparation. That must be why this product was recommended to me by Facebook. It’s pretty clear that I love, love, love coffee. 

But, no. The photograph depicted something that resembled a juice box, or a gourmet soup in aseptic packaging. This was not coffee.

I started at the top of the box and read to the bottom. When I got there I was startled to read, “meal enhancer for dogs.”

Yes, friends, this is some tasty concoction that you “pour over” your dog’s food to make it taste better. They come in different flavors, even. The Honest Kitchen makes what they call Human Grade Pet Food: wet food, dry food, and dehydrated food. This is fascinating. Is this a line of gourmet toppings to make unappetizing dry dog food appealing?

I have so many questions. Here are the two top contenders:

1. Are dogs that finicky about their food? In my experience they are pretty much all-opportunity eaters. It’s cats that you have to tempt and wheedle.

2. If you make a really tasty dog food to begin with, why would a pourover be necessary?

Okay, one more: If it’s human grade dog food, is anyone out there actually eating it? And do the pourovers help it go down more easily?

I have in my life owned a dog and a cat.(And that was a bad plan, allergy-wise.) But the only time I can imagine having need of a meal enhancer was in raising children. What I would have given to have a range of tempting tasty pourovers that would magically make my child eat their dinner. Imagine the possibilities!

Child: I won’t eat this crud!

Mom: How about a pourover, Honey?

Child: say, this is great, Mom! Can I have some more?

(Maybe that's what ketchup and Ranch were doing all along.)

Have you ever heard of this kind of pourover? If you have a dog, would you try it? Bonus question: have you ever tasted pet food? I have, on a dare. But that’s another story altogether.