"Almost Soup"

Overall, I really enjoyed this piece; although at times, I was slightly confused. I thought it was kind of interesting that dog seemed to be an important part of the community's diet, but the young girl was unaware of this. I thought that this may have hinted at a possible food shortage that the elders may have been trying to compensate for, or it may have just been a sign of her innocence, as even today, I am slightly turned off of meals that involve lovable creatures such as duck and rabbit. The dog, as the narrator, was given a human-like understanding of the world knowing the importance of procreation, knowing the ins and outs of the community and even understanding the inevitability and fear of death. I thought that this characterization of the dog may have provided insight to the importance of nature and animals in this community. One part of the reading that confused me a bit had to do with the women beading and the story line involving the girl with the twin mothers and Rozin's debate over the sharing of bodies. Towards the end of the story, I was a little lost when the dog speaks about keeping Cally's spirit safe and then putting it back into her at the hospital. This could be completely wrong, but I thought that maybe because the dog was purely white and death was described as a black dog that the white dog may symbolize the keeper of spirit or life.