Our basement was dry for years. Then, one day, just hours after an appraiser came to see the house because we were refinancing the mortgage and asked the fateful question, "No sump pump in the basement?" and I confidently replied, "Nope, we don't need one, we've never had a drop of water in it," the water came. First a drip which I wiped up with a towel. Then a puddle which I mopped. In a couple of hours, I had parked my then-small kids in front of the t.v. as I ran up and down the basement steps carrying everything I could to higher ground, the phone cradled against my shoulder as I hysterically asked my husband what the heck I was supposed to do.
That was the first of many cardio workouts running boxes, containers, lamps, the drum set, even the marimba up from the basement whenever we had a big rain or a big winter thaw. We tried numerous solutions through the years: retrenching drains around the house, putting gutters on the roof. After a while, a bad weather report alone would cause us to lose sleep. We knew what was coming.
I knew the solution, it was a drain around the inside perimeter of the basement and a sump pump but this required every last little thing being taken out of the basement, including the built in shelves that ran the length of an entire wall, which had already been rebuilt once. Which was worse, the periodic storm-induced frenzies or one long siege of work?
In the fall of 2008 we got so much water that it kept coming in for a solid week. Hank and I finally looked at each other and realized that the universe had been giving us messages about dealing with the basement for a long, long time. First it whispered, then it spoke, and finally, it was hitting us upside the head. Time to fix the problem.
So we did. The company we hired to do the work - not the shlepping everything up and out of the basement, that pleasure was all ours - the jack hammering, the installing the sump pump, etc. had recommended a "triple-safe sump pump". I was skeptical. What were the odds that the electricity would go out at the same time we'd need the sump pump? Hank wanted to be ready for anything. Indeed, I think he was ready to hire a watchman to sit in the basement 24/7 just watching for water. So, triple-safe we became.
The crew finished their work as the ice-storm of '09 began. I was worried about them driving through the ice as they left, they assured me their truck, laden with concrete, was heavy enough to get through anything. Eight hours later our power went out, and our triple-safe sump pump, with it's battery backup was the only sound I heard. Except for maybe a soft voice, laughingly saying, "Glad you finally listened." We were without power for 5 1/2 days and we had one of the few houses around that came through the storm with a dry basement.
So, now I listen and I finally get to write about dog food. All the while, you might be wondering what any of this has to do with health. I'll get to the dog food in a moment. For now, the connection, which is simple - everything's connected. Hank and I got rid of a continuing source of stress when we solved the problem of our wet basement. We don't worry storms the way we used to. We relax during vacations knowing that when we get home and open the basement door, all will be well. Any time you reduce stress, you increase health. We also have less mold in the house because the basement is dry.
Now for the connection between dog food and human health (no, I'm not suggesting you eat it!). For those of us that love our dogs, having them in our lives is a pleasure, indeed they're family members that we love - so, when they're healthy, we're calmer and healthier, too.
Finally, finally I get to my point. Yesterday, Trish, a school friend of mine, unrequested, sent me a link to the company where she buys her dog's organic dog food. I was prepared to let it slide, thinking the pet store food we buy Mobley is good enough. Last night, I opened an issue of Oprah magazine to find a small bit on pet cancer and the stat that 50% of dogs over age 10 develop cancer, and that the chemicals in most dog foods may be a cause. Then, this morning, Hank handed me an article his friend and coworker Kathryn gave him for me about the food supply, including how some Chinese companies are using melamine in pet food. I think the universe is whispering to me again. This time I'm not waiting for it to smack me upside the head! I'll be shopping for organic food for Mobley.
This is long enough, so I'll let you go with one last thought. If our pets' food supply is tainted, if organic food is safer for our pets, what of our own food supply. There's been too much in the news for any of you to miss any of this, and one day when I really want to wade through the evidence, I'll post about that. For now, I humbly suggest if you haven't already thought about it, this is a good time to start.
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