I had a stray thought while I was making the dogs breakfast this morning.

Here is what goes into their three pretty little ceramic bowls:

• Embark:  a dehydrated raw dog food
• A handful of normal kibble which, like the Embark, looks nothing like real food
• Salmon oil that has been shipped in from Norway and stored in a bright green can
• Dehydrated dry vitamins that mix in with the food

Nothing in their bowls look like anything a dog would have eaten a hundred years go.  Or maybe even ten years ago.  That’s exactly how I used to imagine we would eat in the future – no more bother with cooking (not my favorite sport anyway) – just glop that turned into good tasting food (and yes, the dogs love their reconstituted doggie-food soup, even it does look a bit like I might have imagined soylent green would look (shudder).  But they have controlled calorie counts, glossy coats, and excellent energy.

Beyond that, they have chips in them that will help them if they are lost.

And there are companies that clone dogs, too.  This is, in fact, just one.  There’s competition – from South Korea and other countries.

Mind you, like dogs of old, they still get long walks with the dog walker, and to cuddle on the couch during morning paper reading, as well as the occasional bone to chew on.  But still, they’re getting pretty close to the future.  You can see them at www.threedogsblog.com, although you can’t see the science fiction elements of their lives.  We hide those.