Jokbal (braised pig trotters)

Jokbal is pig trotters braised for hours in soy sauce with garlic, ginger, scallion and onion, then sliced off the bone. If you are picturing American equivalents, think smoked ham hocks, braised pig's feet, or the pork bones left after a barbecue. Fat comes first. The gelatinous skin people call collagen sits on a thick fat layer. Merck identifies dietary indiscretion as a common risk factor for acute pancreatitis in dogs, and VCA lists the signs as nausea, vomiting, fever, lethargy, abdominal pain, diarrhea and decreased appetite, with the characteristic "praying position," front end down and rear elevated. Severe hemorrhagic cases may need two to four days of hospitalization, and recovery diets run below 20 g fat per 1,000 kcal. Cooked bone comes second. Cornell's veterinary college, explaining the FDA bone treat warning, advises against giving bones, antlers or hooves of any kind, and says an appropriate chew should be bendable and dent under a fingernail. Heated bone splinters, and the results are fractured teeth, esophageal and intestinal obstruction, and perforation. The braise comes third. Merck reports that garlic and onion oxidize canine red blood cells into Heinz bodies and cause hemolysis, which typically appears 3-5 days after exposure — the delay that convinces owners nothing happened. Sodium comes fourth. Soy braising liquid soaks into the meat, and the salted shrimp sauce served alongside is essentially salt. Merck places clinical signs of salt toxicosis at 2-3 g/kg. If bone or skin went down, do not make your dog vomit — sharp fragments do more damage on the way back up — and do not push food or water down to "coat" it. Record the time, the amount, and whether bone was involved, then call your veterinarian or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435. Repeated vomiting, a guarded belly, or the praying position within 12-48 hours is an emergency.