We’ve named her Chica temporarily because it seemed wrong to keep calling her “the other dog.”  She is an absolute sweetheart…. but definitely categorized as special needs.  She is partially blind and has difficulty walking due to hip dysplasia, but she hobbles around.  Her disposition, however, is very sweet… and I’ve done some unspeakable things to her like forcefeeding her pumpkin and yogurt with a syringe. I won’t go into why I was doing this… after all this IS a food blog! lol!

We currently have her in our home in Ft Lauderdale.  We would love to keep her, but we already have 2 chihuahuas and just don’t have room for another. Also, with our busy schedules and traveling, we don’t have the time to give her the attention she needs.  If you know someone who would like to adopt a special needs pet, please email me at candace at maloman.com.  She would be the perfect lap dog for an elderly woman or man who needs companionship. 

I’d like to give a big thank you to Dr. Loeser, my fantastic vet, who donated her time to run tests on little Chica.  Check out this beautiful image Stephan took of little Chica.

This is not just a boring cake, but a savory one flavored with pureed chicken and… yes… that’s real bacon lining the sides.  Carrots add sweetness and a nice fleck of color.  The frosting is simply yogurt and cottage cheese pureed with a dab of swiss cheese (for extra stinky factor) and cake crumbs to make it stiff enough to be spreadable.  The candles were Pupperonis cut in half.  Good stuff.  I’d almost eat it… ehhhh almost.

All Natural Ingredients list: Vegetable oil, eggs, chicken, flour, baking powder, carrots, low-sodium bacon, cottage cheese, yogurt, swiss cheese.

Before they got to eat the cake, the dogs had already worked themselves into a lather… its not often we have real bacon at home.  I kept thinking of that obnoxious commercial for dog treats where the dog is yelling bacon, BACON, BACON!!!! The poor dogs were practically drooling with anticipation before I let them eat the cake.  They both got a teensy slice of cake which they ate with a vengeance.

Also, a quick plug for Petfinder.com, where we found Rocky.  I’m a big advocate of pet rescue and have rescued both of my dogs.  If you’re looking for a four legged addition to your family, please consider rescuing an animal before going to a pet store.  There are so many loving pets out there that need homes!

Although my husband is one of the biggest fans of my blog (and food) he is not my most discriminating taste tester. That would be my pooches, Sushi and Rocky. I posted a while ago about one of their regular dinners. They are probably the most spoiled animals on the planet. They get to eat what we eat, minus the un-doggy friendly ingredients, of course. The lucky dogs have even traveled to Germany twice. Although I assume they have no idea they are not in Florida… other than the fact it is cold and my father in law sneaks them German sausage for breakfast.

This is a sweet chocolaty cookie that is only for the dogs. Before you panic about me feeding the dogs chocolate, the ingredients are all natural and are doggy friendly. There is neither sugar nor chocolate in it. Instead it contains honey and carob powder. But shhhhh… don’t tell them, as I think I may have fooled them!

Sushi seems interested…

Dog treats are a fun project of mine that I’m hoping to turn into a business one day, so I’ll just share the (all natural) ingredients.  I’ve been developing recipes for a while, and will eventually need four legged taste testers for future batches of treats.  I’ll keep everyone posted!

Choco-dogo-cookie ingredients: eggs, honey, vegetable oil, flour, wheat flour, carob powder, cinnamon, almonds.

Now, I cook them dinner every night. I know… I’m bananas, but I absolutely love my doggies and the freshly cooked food makes them happy. In the wise words of Tony Soprano… Whaddaya gonna do?

To make it easy, I prep 5 or 6 days in advance. I chop up my veggies and parcook a sweet potato so it cooks faster. It also helps to chop up your meat and freeze in small amounts. Luckily, my dogs are tiny (5 pounds each) so there is not much prep.

Doggie Stir Fry

1 tsp olive oil
1 c sweet potato
1 c carrots, chopped bitesize
1 c broccoli chopped bitesize
1 c meat (chicken, beef, turkey, etc) chopped bitesize
1/2 c chopped spinach

1. Cut the sweet potato into thick slices and cook until almost tender. I microwave mine, but you can also bake or boil. Prepare the rest of veggies by chopping them up into bitesize pieces. Since my doggies are so small, I cut my pieces very small. The recipe amounts above will feed my dogs for about 4 days.

2. Heat the oil in a small saute pan over medium heat and add a little of each veggie (again, it depends on the size of your dog). Cook for minute or so (longer with bigger pieces of veggie) and then add the meat. Continue cooking until the meat is cooked through. Remove from heat and mix in a bit of the chopped spinach. Allow to cool and serve! Your pooches will love you forever… :)

Note: I generally use the vegetables I have on hand, sometimes broccoli, green beans, frozen peas, etc… If I have left over plain white or brown rice, I add a bit of that to their food too. Experiment with the different vegetables and meats, as it will be quite obvious what the dogs do and do not like. Just make sure you avoid onions, as they are toxic to dogs. Also, check with your vet to make sure your dogs will benefit from a home cooked meal. My vet suggested I add a daily doggie multi-vitamin to their food.