It's Take Your Dog To Work Day!

I used to work in an amusement park in Carolina Beach, NC. Shortly after I started, it was bought out by a rich family looking for a hobby. Among their hobbies was raising Irish Water Spaniels (which look like big poodles) and they used to bring them to work with them often. The dogs were cool, but even better than that was the fact that the new owners didn't mind the staff bringing their dogs and in fact encouraged us to! I think I was the only one who did, but my Scotty-dog loved being able to ride to the beach and go for walks when I wasn't bound to the office. He forged quite a friendship with 2 of the owner's 3 dogs- it wasn't unusual to come in and find a giant puppy pile snoozing behind my desk!

I'm pretty sure there isn't a Take Your CAT To Work day, for two reasons. A: Cats don't work, they like to watch us do it. B: Have you ever tried to jam a cat into a carrier & then listened to it sing the war songs of its people for a cross-town commute? If I did bring her to work with me, Nightshade would either spend the shift under my desk hissing mad, or disappear into the bowels of this hellhole, never to be seen again!

Foodie Friday- Dog friendly edition

I realized that it's only fair to make goodies for our beloved animal companions from time to time. So, after searching for recipes, I found this one and tried it on my friend's finicky cocker spaniels and one of our less than picky K9 units at work. It was a kit with both of them. This is also safe for humans- my friends and I all tried it, but didn't like it nearly as much as all of the pups did!


Homemade Chicken Jerky For Dogs

INGREDIENTS

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 tablespoon smooth peanut butter
1/4 teaspoon soy sauce

PREPARATION

1. Preheat your oven to 170˚ F.

2. Remove any excess fat or bits of bone from the chicken breasts and pat dry.

3. Mix together the peanut butter and soy sauce, which creates the marinade for the jerky. Stir and thin with up to 1 tablespoon of additional water to create a smooth paste. Coat the chicken with the peanut butter mixture, and place in the freezer for 1 hour.(Slightly freezing the chicken makes it easier to thinly slice.)

4. Remove the chicken from the freezer, and cut as thinly as possible.

5. Cover a sheet tray with parchment paper, and arrange the thin slices in a single layer. Place in the oven, set the timer for 2 hours, and hang out with your pup while the jerky cooks.

6. Your jerky is ready! Once cool, cut with scissors into smaller bits, or leave as is for big mouthfuls of chewiness. Store in a sealable container, and your homemade chicken jerky is good for up to 30 days — if it lasts that long. And the jerky is totally human-tasty, too. It's low in fat and sodium while being a high-in-protein pick-me-up.

Chicken is a healthy protein for pups and gives the jerky a nice chew without being too dry. For chewier jerky, cut the chicken with the grain.

A Quote That Made Me Snicker

From the article "how not to apologize" by Marjorie Ingall in the June 2014 issue of Real Simple:

"I'm sorry that it was impossible to ignore the incessant yapping of your undersocialized feral hell beast."

Poncho- Year One

I first came across this series a few years ago. Poncho is a funny little dog, and his interactions with the humans, cats, fish, and other dogs in his life are a hoot. Creator Paul Gilligan decided to go back and explore Poncho's origins, and I'm SO glad he did. You get to see his life from just before birth until he goes to live with his pet human, Chaz. The puppy sibling relationships are a scream- loved the Goth girl pup. Great addition to my collection.

Maggie's Second Chance- Nancy Furstinger

ok, I admit I'm a sap and a sucker for animals. This beautiful story made me cry. Maggie is a sweet dog, pregnant and abandoned by her owners. She's taken to a shelter to have her puppies. The puppies all get new homes, but Maggie is left to languish until a little boy sees a news story about her and begs his teacher to help him help her. His class petitions the city council and gets a no-kill shelter created- just in time to save Maggie who is about to be euthanized.