Puppies Day 17

As you can see by the pictures, the babies are now eating baby cereal....they love it

 The puppies decided to eat mama's food.....that is why we started them on baby cereal!

Here are the new puppies from the mama that adopted us!  She had 10 and we will be looking for GOOD homes for them as well as mama

Updated Pictures of the Shipman's

 Riley and Kody sharing the sofa

 Handsome Kody

 Beautiful Bo

Princess Riley

Doggie Additions

A few months ago, a neighbors dog "adopted" us.  She had 5 puppies and was not receiving enough to eat.  When she came in the drive, I had to feed her, as she was so thin for supplying milk for her puppies.  The next thing I know she came back down the road carrying her toys!  We found homes for the puppies.

After speaking to the neighbor we decided to take her in and have her fixed.  When we called the vet, he was all booked up for the month and then, it was TOO LATE.  We now are the proud grandparents of 10 cute little puppies.  They are a week old today and although we haven't been able to get a good picture of the "crowd"  below is a picture of mama (aka Shadow) and some candid pictures of the babies

Tweaking a well loved recipe

Dogs are much like people, they do not like to eat the same thing day in and day out....no MATTER what the big companies try to tell you.  Soooooo we have tweaked our dog food recipe.  Here are some of the items we have worked with and found great results!!!

Since we live at the lake and my husband loves to fish, we have started adding fish to the food, the dogs love it and it keeps our cost even lower. 

We have also experimented with replacing the pearl barley (not always easy to find) with rice (found very inexpensively at Sam's Club).

Other replacements instead soy sauce (which can have a lot of sodium), we use a marinate.  This is also purchased at Sam's Club in a large bottle that will make at least a couple of batches.

Since our dog population has grown (will follow with that story), we are now making in much larger batches so below, you will see possible exchanges.  For the sake of the readers, I will not show the increased qualities but understand that this recipe is EASILY doubled/tripled or more!

Ingredients

• 2 lbs carrots
• 2 lbs potatoes
• 1/2 bunch celery 
• substitute/or in addition
•  zucchini
• green beans (institutional size cans @ Sam's)
• corn (institutional size cans @ Sam's)
• 3 lbs of cheap beef (hamburger, mince, chuck or the like) 
• substitute/or in addition
• fish
• ham
• 1/4 cup soy sauce 
• Substitute/or in addition
• Marinates
• Ham Broth (can be salty)
• Gravy [homemade (less salty)/or pouches]
• 3 -4 chicken stock cubes (optional)
• 4-4 1/2 quarts water (as needed)
• 1 lb of dried pearl barley 
• Substitute
• Rice
• Pinto Beans (I know what you are thinking but does not seem to be any worse than normal!) 

 

Directions

1. Start with a LARGE stock pot.
2. Chop or slice the carrots, potatoes, celery or substitutes and meat (other than minced meat) to a size that suits your dog.
3. Add the above ingredients to the pot.
4. Add the soy sauce/marinate and stock cubes to the pot.
5. Add the water to the pot. You may need to reduce or increase (less likely) the amount of water. It will depend on the moisture in the vegetables and meat.
6. Put the pot on the stove top, over a high heat.
7. Let it cook for about one hour.
8. Then -- assuming the mixture has come to a boil -- add the barley. Don't add the barley until the boil happens (it doesn't have to be a big rolling boil).  If using rice or beans, they can be cooked separately and added.
9. After adding the barley, cook for another 30-35 minutes (depending on what the barley package suggests.
10. This recipe really holds its heat, so let it cool for at least four hours before serving. Better still, make the recipe in the morning (weekends are good), then dish up the servings for the evening meal and let them cool all day.
11. Store in the refrigerator/or freezer after completely cooled.  I tried canning and was not "comfortable" with the outcome!  We purchased several containers (5 for $4 as the dollar store) and store our large batches in the freezer.  Keeping about 3 days worth at a time in the refrigerator.  
12. If you are purchasing containers, make sure you get all same BRAND, so that all lids are interchangeable (lesson learned the hard way).

Just so you get an idea of how much we increase it and our usage, below is the "pot" of one batch!!

 
 

Riley.....

To all my friends and dog lovers, Miss Riley was playing outside yesterday and cut her leg (right above her big pad on her foot).  I was out of state and received the news that she was on the way to the Animal Hospital.  Just like receiving the call concerning your child I was devastated that I could not be with her.

The Animal Hospital in Burkesville KY cleaned the injury, which took 3 staples to close.  Antibiotics,  pain medicine a bandage and daddy was ready to bring her home and pamper her.  Her brothers came in and slept near her and watched over her.  She goes back in a week to have the staples removed.

Maggie Mae

As soon as I arrive home tomorrow I will post a picture of her, in the meantime, the picture above is of my "niece"......It sucks to be away, miss her but am lucky enough to spend a few days with my sister Carolyn and my "niece" Maggie Mae.....she is a beauty!!!  Her cousins Kody, Bo and Riley sent her some of their homemade dog food and she loves it!!  She is returning the favor by sending home some bones......aren't cousins great.

Short LOVE Story

I wrote this TRUE story just hours after it occurred. My first thought was to send to the two people that brought us these puppies Debbie Moncrief from RCAS in Wedowee AL and Debbie Kelly from SparKY from Owensboro KY. But then because of the awesome weekend with Emmaus and the effect that it has had on my life, I wanted to share with all. (September 24, 2012)

 

It was one of the first cool evening of fall, a nip in the air.  We had fallen into bed exhausted after a long week and sleep was almost immediate.  I was snuggled under the covers when suddenly Miss Riley our puppy starts to bark.  I grab my pillow and roll over willing the barking to cease but alas she is persistent.

Then I heard at a distance, near the woods her “brother” Kody barking.  Not a normal bark but a deep bark as if her were saying to something or someone, “stay away from my little sister”. When Kody began barking, Riley came to the window and scratched frantically and began to whine, as if to say “mommy, mommy let me in I am so afraid.”  Knowing this was a rare reaction, I ran to the window and as I opened it, Riley catapulted through the window ran to the living room and jumped in the chair that I normally sit in.  She curled up in a ball and looked at me with those huge loving eyes that now appeared calm where just moments ago there was fear.  She fell to sleep in an instance and slept for hours.  Just at the moment that she looked at me, her “brother’s” barking ceased as if he knew she was now safe. 

When I awoke the next morning sitting in the other chair, it dawned on me that we as humans are much like Riley.  When we are afraid, hurt, hungry or lonely all we want is for someone that we love and trust to say “it’s okay, I am here for you and I will take care of you”….now isn’t that what we have in God?  All we have to do is ask, go to him and he will see that if you truly believe in him and know that Jesus died for your sins, you will live with him for eternity in heaven.  As we all know, all dogs and all of God’s children go to heaven so my beloved pets will be romping on the streets of gold with me forever!

Taken 5/16/12 Big brother protecting his little sister!