Sometimes it seems like Queens is paved with chicken bones. You don't realize this until you acquire a chicken-bone detector on legs, but they're everywhere.

The other day Ella hit a jackpot one better, though. She was walking with Laura and found a whole pile of grungy, slimy chicken parts thrown out at the curb. She got the whole thing in her mouth. Laura had to reach in and scrape it all out of her mouth. Then, when Ella was chicken-part-free, Laura walked a few yards away and threw up.

Mostly having a dog is a joy, but there are certainly unpleasant aspects to it.