Andy Loved Arby's Roast Beef

As Andy aged, he had a hard time maintaining his weight. I worried because he was losing muscle mass. Accordingly, I took measures to encourage his appetite. If he wanted to ‘sneak’ out to the kitchen and eat the cat food, I’d let him. He knew he shouldn’t do it making it that much cuter.


During the school year, I developed a hankering for Arby’s roast beef sandwiches. I took one into the living room where Andy was and walked right past him. I could see him point his nose in the air and twitch it. He was interested in the roast beef sandwich. Curious to see if he’d eat it, I pinched off a bite and gave it to Andy. He snapped it up. Baby Boy loved it.

Eventually, Andy would not wait for me to give him some but would press the matter by walking right up to my desk and stare at me. He never went to my desk in the living room because it was in a corner and the cramped quarters scared him. The love of tooties won over his fears. Andy would ignore his claustrophobia and get his tooty. He loved Arby’s roast beef sandwiches that much.

I would buy 4 or 5 roast beef sandwiches from the $1 menu, cut them into quarters and feed them to Andy over the weekends when I was there. The Arby’s workers came to recognize me and make small talk saying “You must really like these.” I didn’t have the heart to say it was dog food. For the sake of politeness, I kept that to myself.

Andy’s love affair with Arby’s roast beef sandwiches lasted almost to the end.