Raw Goat’s Milk Ice Cream – for dogs April 17, 2012

Martin eating his Birthday Raw Goat's Milk Ice Cream - yummy!

 

Yesterday was Martin’s 1st birthday.  Martin is a Dogue de Bordeaux who was born in my family room.  Martin’s mother, Bailey, was taken to the Gloucester County Animal Shelter a week before she was due to have her puppies.  The shelter, not knowing Bailey was pregnant, contacted the Dogue de Bordeaux Society of America Rescue and they contacted me.  I had a friend who was interested in adopting a Dogue and she was all too excited to adopt Bailey.  And then we found out that she was pregnant with four puppies!  So I brought Bailey to my home so that she could have a loving and comfortable environment in which to have her puppies.  Maybe it was the stress of the situation, but Bailey rejected her puppies and myself and my husband, Tom, became “parents” to four newborns.

Martin at one week of age

 

I decided to raise my puppies naturally and chose to bottle feed them with what nature intended – raw milk.  I used raw goat’s milk from a company called Answers.  Their goat’s milk is amazing – all it contains is raw goat’s milk, bacterial cultures to help keep the milk safe, honey and organic cinnamon.

 

To commemorate Martin’s Birthday, I made him some raw goat’s milk ice cream using Answer’s milk that he was raised on.

 

 

This recipe makes 2 quarts, or so.

5-1/2 cups Answer’s raw goat milk
6 egg yolks from pastured, naturally raised chickens – important!
1/2 cup of honey
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
1 avocado, peeled and sliced

Blend all ingredients until smooth in blender or Vitamix wet container. Chill thoroughly. Freeze according to your ice cream maker’s instructions.

Serve immediately to your favorite furry friends!

 

Please consider joining me today in celebrating Martin’s Birthday by making a donation to your local animal shelter.

 

peace, love, and plenty of tail wags~

Irish Puptato Dog Treats March 18, 2012

 

Muffin, enjoying her Irish Puptato Treat at Street Tails Animal Rescue.

 

I decided to adapt the popular Irish Potato Candy recipe into a dog treat to help celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day at Street Tails Animal Rescue (STAR).  Today was a junior volunteer day at STAR and the kids had a blast chasing down clues that would help lead them to the pot of gold that a leprechaun had hidden late last night.

 

Irish Puptato Dog Treats

The Street Tails Animal Rescue's Junior Volunteers following clues to find the pot of gold.

• 1/4 cup coconut oil (melted)
• 1 cup plain not fat yogurt that was strained overnight
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 1/2 cups unsweetened flaked coconut
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon coconut flour

Directions

In a medium bowl, beat the coconut oil and yogurt together until smooth. Add the vanilla and honey; beat until smooth. Using your hands if necessary, mix in the coconut. Roll into balls or potato shapes.  Mix the cinnamon and coconut flour together and roll the balls in the cinnamon flour mixture. Place onto a cookie sheet and chill to set.

Substitutions: Butter can be used instead of coconut oil, low fat cream cheese can be used instead or yogurt, any type of flour can be used instead of coconut flour.

 

Please consider making a donation to STAR, volunteering to help walk or foster the rescue dogs, or best of all – adopt

 

This is absolutely adorable Spencer! He's a 2 month old terrier mix currently residing at Street Tails Animal Rescue.

Peace, love, and plenty of tail wags~

Whiskey Rebellion – for Street Tails Animal Rescue (STAR) February 20, 2012

Help support STAR and come out for the Whiskey Rebellion!

 

While I won’t be providing any veterinary services at this event, I would love if you could come out to join me in an evening of eating, drinking, making merry, AND more importantly – raising money for Street Tails Animal Rescue!  You will be able to help dogs like Egg Roll and Wonton find loving homes.  And if you’d like to adopt Egg Roll or Wonton, please fill out an adoption form on STAR’s website.  Both boys are  young adorable and sweet dogs.  They couldn’t get enough belly rubs and they will both agree to snuggle with you for hours on end if you take them home to love them.

Egg Roll

 

The Whiskey Rebellion will be an evening of Whiskey tasting to benefit Street Tails Animal Rescue. Food pairings will be provided by Mark Tropea Chef and Owner of Sonata Restaurant. Featuring Tullamore Dew Irish Whiskey, Glenfiddich Scotch Whisky, and Hudson (a New York state, American Whiskey provided by William Grant & Sons).

(c)2012 William Grant & Sons USA Inc. Please enjoy these unique spirits responsibly.

Wonton

 

Advanced Tickets Available:
Street Tails Adoption Center, 1030 N. 2nd Street #401,
Sonata Restaurant, 1030 N. American Street
Philadelphia Eddies Chinatown Tattoo, 409 Arch Street

Tickets $30. or 2 for $50.

 

Items up for Raffle donated by, The Chic Petique, Delicious Corsets, Ploome Fitness, DNA Salon, Tattooed Moms, Philadelphia Eddie’s Chinatown Tattoo, and more…

 

A special thanks to my friends at D’Agostini Liquor Store in Mantua, New Jersey for letting me rearrange their whole whiskey shelf and take photos in their store.  Please check out their store and their Facebook page.

 

 

~ peace, love, and plenty of tail wags

Valentine’s Day – A Love Story February 14, 2012

Macy eating her Valentine's Day Pupcake

 

Foreword (AKA more of Dr. Forsyth’s philosophies): Valentine’s Day is all about love.  And I’m sure some of you out there haven’t bought anything for your sweetheart yet.  Here is my suggestion to all of you last minute shoppers: give some love to a homeless dog or cat!  Just think of how awesome you will be when you come home with a dog or cat that just needed a home … just needed some love.  You would be the best boyfriend or girlfriend ever!  And if you can’t adopt, forget about the cliché dozen roses and/or bottle of champagne.  Give your sweetie a card with a message about how you love them so much that you just couldn’t spend $50 on roses that would be dead in a week or bubbly that would be gone in an hour, but instead donated that money to an animal rescue to help give a pet some love.  Please join me in donating $50 today to Street Tails Animal Rescue (you can use the STAR logo over to the right) or your own local rescue group.  

 

After making my pupcakes this past Sunday, I packed up the extras and headed over to Street Tails Animal Rescue (STAR) to “feed the homeless.”   They had a table set up for children to make Valentine’s Day cards for the dogs in the rescue.  And I let the kids feed each rescue dog a Valentine’s Day pupcake … it was unbelievably cute!

Making Valentine's Day cards at STAR

 

So onto the love story that you’ve all been waiting for…

Peter and Teeny - what a cute couple

 

Peter and his main squeeze, Teeny, are a bonded pair of beagles.  They were adopted together 7 years ago and had a loving home up until several weeks ago when their owner passed away.  Peter is a very cool dog.  He is the more outgoing of the pair and he is super gentle.  He loves to snuggle and sit in your lap to be petted.  Teeny is a little more shy, but still a sweetie.  My wish for Valentine’s Day is that this cute couple find their forever home where they will have a warm bed to sleep in every night, yummy food to eat, and most importantly – love.

 

I think this Valentine’s Day card (the smaller one in the corner) that was made by one of the kids at STAR this past Sunday says it all:

  

I’m beggin’ you to be mine! Woof

Valentine's Day card for Teeny at STAR

Street Tails – Maximus January 25, 2012

This is Maximus.  He is a very sweet Bull Terrier and I’m guessing that he is one year old.  He is the type of dog that would be great to come home to, pop open a can of beer, and spend the rest of the night on the couch watching some football – or some reruns of the original Beverly Hills 90210 (or maybe I’m just dating myself – having grown up with the Bud Light Spuds MacKenzie commercials).  Maximus has a great bark (but he isn’t what I’d call barky) and will keep anybody feeling safe from pesky home invasions.

Please fill out an adoption application for him on the Street Tails website.

Bubba – the newest Street Tails adoptee January 17, 2012

This is Bubba, he’s the latest Street Tails rescue.  This guy is super sweet and affectionate – and his mohawk is adorable!  I saw him today and he is now officially neutered, vaccinated, heartworm disease free, and up for adoption.  I’m guessing he is around one year of age and that he’s a Dachshund Terrier cross.  If you are interested, fill out an adoption form on the street tails website.

Bubba (Dachshund Terrier cross)

Street Tails January 16, 2012

I decided to dedicate my first official post to somebody who has dedicated their life to helping dogs and cats in need.  Lindsay Condefer is the owner of a pet store, The Chic Petique, that carries terrific natural foods, treats, toys, and gear.  Even though Lindsay has been rescuing dogs and cats in dire need – or with special needs – for many years, she just recently officially opened the doors to Street Tails Animal Rescue.  She takes in abandoned strays, dogs and cats that are on their last days at the shelter, and special needs pets in the Philadelphia area that wouldn’t have a chance without her unwavering dedication and compassion.

I went to visit Street Tails today and to spend some time with the newest adoptees.  Here are their stories:  Macy is a 2 year old female Cane Corso, forced to live in a vacant lot until she was seized by animal control.  She was such a cuddle bug – definitely the type of girl I’d want to keep warm with on a cold winter’s day.  Camille is a 3 year old Pitbull who had been living at the SPCA for almost a year with an untreated illness (inflammatory bowel disease).  She is a quiet and gentle girl – what I would call the loyal type.  Sampson is a 4 year old Bulldog who was found as a stray in Penn Treaty Park.  He is the type of guy that seems to be comfortable in any situation – super outgoing.  Napoleon is a 2 year old Shih Tzu who was picked up as a stray by Philadelphia animal control.  He is a super busy and playful guy (as you can see from my blurry photo) – he is a little clown and was very entertaining.

Lindsay and Macy

Camille

Sampson

Napoleon

If you are looking for a new best friend, check out the Street Tails website for available dogs and cats.  Or become a foster parent for a pet in need.  Or if you are already filled to capacity with four-legged friends, consider a donation of time or money.  Or shop at Thrift for Tails, a second hand shop for your pets that is located within Street Tails and directly supports their rescue efforts.