[This is post #014 towards #100DaysOfFoodBlogging, our goal to do 100 posts in 100 days as part of The 100 Day Project.]

The internet is full of pictures of people who look like their pets, but my pup, Cooper, and I share something even more important than our looks: We are both highly motivated by food.

We both are more than willing to wag our tails at the mere mention of any of the foods below.

1.  Meatballs

“Is…is…is…is that a bag of…MEATBALLS?!”

I won’t lie, I’m really proud that my dog knows the word “meatball.” Technically the ones that he eats are made for dogs by Milo’s Kitchen, but still..don’t take this away from me. Either way, he feels the same way I do when I unwrap a hot melty meatball sub. You know, where that one part of your brain releases happy juice to the other part (biologically speaking). When it comes to Milo’s meatballs, Cooper’s brain releases this happy juice in the form of drool. So, yes, our hardwood floors have a lot of water damage.

 2.  Chicken

“May I proceed to devouring the chicken in my bowl?”

Chicken is Cooper’s kryptonite, while fried Chicken is mine. I do generally restrain myself like an adult; however, Coop is still working on his willpower per the exhibits below.

Exhibit A:  That time he pulled my friend’s chicken off his Chi-fil-a sandwich. He was a puppy and that sandwich was also delicious, so it’s hard to blame him. Yeah! In fact, Micah, you shouldn’t have left your sandwich unattended.

Exhibit B:  Although pulling a chicken carcass out of the trash is a severe offense, it is also an impressive form of dedication. When’s the last time you’ve ever committed to something 100%? I’ve never pulled a carcass out of the garbage, but I have been hungry enough to consider dumpster diving behind Popeyes.

3.  Ice Cream

“Ice cream is literally the best thing ever!”

We’ve already covered Cooper’s love of our local soft serve joint, Nathan’s Dairy Bar, but his infatuation with the cold creamy stuff doesn’t end there. We (and when I say “we” here I’m talking about the humans in the house) eat a lot of ice cream. Most days deserve to be capped off by a small bowl of ice cream (we’re constantly running out of spoons and bowls). As such, there will occasionally be a scoop of Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream dropped into Cooper’s bowl. I think I’ve mentioned it before on this blog, but it’s at the point now that he doesn’t even need to hear the word “ice cream,” rather he will wake up from a COMPLETE slumber at the sound of the freezer door opening and a pint hitting the counter. It’s impressive. And he claims to not know how to fetch me my slippers…

4.  Sweet Potato

“Totally regretting the fact that I know ‘stay’ right now.”

Conjuring up images of Thanksgiving, my mouth drools at the thought of sweet potatoes. Hell even outside of the holiday, I love them! Mashed, baked, roasted with chipotle pepper, casseroled with marshmallows. I’m there for them all. Although Coop won’t refuse a bit of our sweet potato froyo in his dog bowl, his preference is for the dried variety. I almost always try to keep one in my pocket when we go for walks, just in case he gets off leash. He won’t run away, but the second he tastes freedom he’s not likely to come back to the leash without running around taunting me for a few hours. It’s a fun game we play. However, one mention of “sweet potato” has him sitting in front of me so fast you’d think he was under the spell of a master hypnotist. Which, I can’t blame him for, ’cause I respond the same way when Thanksgiving dinner is ready.

5.  Cheese

“It’s…on…my…paws.”

Who doesn’t love cheese? I’m mildly lactose intolerant and I love the stuff! Extra cheese on my pizza, double slices on my sandwiches, heck give me a bottle of wine and wheel of gouda and I’m good-a for dinner. Yikes. Puns aside, we keep a container of grated Parmesan in our fridge not for us, but for Cooper. Maybe it makes us terrible dog-guardians, but he prefers a little grated parm on his food. And the saltiness of the parm does pair nicely with his Eukenuba Large Breed Adult Dry Dog Food. He also recently discovered (while we were making these tacos) his love for cotija and queso fresco.

Disclaimer: If we mentioned a brand, it is only because we actually use it. No money or goods hath exchanged hands or paws.