Companies appear to be on a never-ending quest for ways to pamper your pooch, and here's the latest evidence: Ice cream maker Good Humor and pet food producer Pedigree have announced plans to produce ice cream sandwiches for dogs.
Apparently this is not a stupid pet snack. The companies said they needed a special formula for the dairy treats, as many dogs are lactose intolerant and cannot easily digest regular ice cream.
Pedigree Ice Cream Sandwich Treats for Dogs will be dairy-based and have the same texture as ice cream, but contain only 1 percent lactose. The treats also will have added protein and no sugar, and are "pawsitively delicious," the firms' press release exclaims.
A package containing 6 frozen yummies will sell for $3.99.
We think this is just the beginning. How about franchising canine ice cream stands? They could be called ... Barking Robbins.
Not-so-bad ideas
- Want to bet who will win the races at Israel's first official horse racing track? You can't.
Most forms of gambling are illegal in Israel, with Jewish religious law forbidding most types of betting and any activity that may suggest cruel treatment of animals. Only government-sponsored betting and gambling is allowed.However, this has not stopped Israel from opening its first authorized horse racing track in a stadium seating several thousand people. Spectators have to settle for watching the races without trying to make a profit from them, at least for now.The Israeli government approved the $20 million project in 2004 and then began proceedings to legalize horse race betting. But the finance ministry has yet to approve the proposals.Anat Mor, the spokeswoman for the Gilboa Municipality, which built the stadium, said tickets would continue to be sold for the betting-free races but that maintaining the track without profits from wagering might lead to financial losses."Without betting, the economic profitability is very low," she said. "It will be a problem to run [the track] over time."We can't argue with those odds.
- A company in south China has developed the nation's first cooking robot, equipping it with the skills to cook thousands of traditional dishes, state media reported this week.
According to a report in Taiwan's China Post, the robot, developed by Fanxing Science and Technology Co. in Shenzhen, knows how to "fry, bake, boil and steam, and can perform other special Chinese cooking actions," quoting the Xinhua news agency.At a recent demonstration, the robot cooked a dish of "beautifully-flavored, attractive-looking" shrimp in just five minutes, according to Xinhua.The robot is slated to hit the market next year, targeting mainly fast-food restaurants; a family-friendly version is planned to go on sale later.We've been thinking about a name for the Chinese cuisine machine, but Iron Chef is probably already trademarked. How about Robo-Cook?