The bird notices the dog. It stops chirping and stares back. The dog's gaze intensifies. Within minutes, the mesmerised bird falls helplessly from the branch, and dinner is served.

You may not believe this story, but once I saw a man hypnotise a chicken. He held it down with one hand, and, with two fingers of the other hand, he held a feather he had plucked from its wing.

Slowly he guided his hand in a wide circle around the bird's head, letting it see the feather. Gradually the diameter of the circle decreased, until he touched the bird's beak with the feather.

At first, the chicken watched his hand, but as the circle became smaller, it stopped moving. As soon as he touched the bird's beak, he wrung its neck - and I couldn't eat chicken for months afterward.

My youngest cat Yoyo seems to be "experimenting" with hypnosis as well.

When birds cluster outside, the cat, peering through the mesh on the balcony, stares silently at them. He doesn't even chatter, a cat's hunting call. So far, the birds have ignored him, except for one unfortunate who may not have even seen him when it flew too near his claws.

You may not know that a controversy is "raging" between animal-protection activists and chefs as to the best way to kill lobsters. For sure, you can't hypnotise this crustacean. Following age-old tradition, most chefs I know simply throw the lobster into boiling water, and death comes quickly.

The activists don't protest against eating lobsters. They believe, however, that the animal suffers intense (if brief) pain before it dies. They recommend using a razor blade across the throat, which is faster and less painful.

Failing a razor blade, the most painless way to kill a lobster or fish is to put it in an environment that is much colder than its body can accept. The animal actually falls asleep and never wakes.

Some people are surprised to learn that lobsters feel pain. Of course they do!

Without the senses of pleasure and pain, how could they survive in the wild?

I'd opt for the razor blade, not only because the animal suffers less. Researchers point out that an animal in stress releases hormones which remain in its body after death and which we ingest when eating it. Large amounts of these hormones can put our own bodies under stress.

The same is true for other animals as well. When you see pigs packed in pickups on their way to abattoirs, you can be sure that stress and resulting hormone levels have soared. Some lobster-loving activists also point out that an animal that dies quickly and without stress produces a much more tender meat.

My vet's dalmatian may be a gourmand as well as a clever dog.

Questions about your pets? Fax (02) 751 4446 or e-mail laurie@nationgroup.com.

By Laurie Rosenthal