Jimlad: ~ Pet food is perfectly edible - it has to be by law. Dog and cat foods are usually put down in bowls in an open environment - i.e., not in a cage or pen - and is therefore accessible by children. Because of this accessibility, meat sold as dog or cat food has to be fit for human consumption. There was a man on 'What's my line' once, whose job it was to taste these meats. I'm not old enough to remember the programme on its first airing, but I seem to recall he stumped the panel.

I remember our village grocer sold dog biscuits by the pound and kept them in 100cwt sacks in the shop. Many's the handful of doggie treats I had out of those sacks...

I thought the Romans had represenstations of grapes and vines or ivy, rather than a general bush outside their tavernas.

LTS