Elvis Casserole

Elvis is Jazz's big brother in every sense of the word; out weighing her by 107 pounds and 3 years her senior.

Elvis was diagnosed diabetic some time back, which facilitated radical changes for the old boy. The vet recommended Science Diet's diabetic kibble. Obediently following direction we wrestled with an ever increasing blood sugar! Finally I read the ingredient label. The second major ingredient is corn meal?! Corn is a carbohydrate. I explained this to the vet who said the corn was added for fiber. Fiber.

I switched Elvis back to his former food. Taste of the Wild, High Planes' second ingredient is sweet potato. Now potatoes are carbohydrates too, but complex rather than simple. Sweet potato is more a more complex carb than its white counterpart making it an excellent complex carb for those watching their blood sugar. For adding the all necessary fiber, I added generic frozen vegetables in what evolved into "Elvis Casserole":
We begin with a $5 bag of chicken leg quarters. There's about 10 thighs in there. Great for BBQ, too. But for cheep dog food, this is the ticket.

Get a few dollars worth of frozen vegies. For high fiber I like broccoli cuts, green beans, lima beans, and carrots. Here's what we're using this time.

Here's 4-5 chicken thighs in a large pressure cooker. It was freezer cleaning day and we came across some freezer burned meats to add.
I add the frozen vegetables on top of the meat so that they retain their shape & fiber qualities. This is both small bags shown earlier.

Then, I add water to reduce any chance of burning and to produce a nice gravy with the casserole.
On goes the lid. I turn the heat on high till it's fully pressurized, then I let a batch this size simmer for 2 to 3 hours. A half size amount for 1 1/2 hour.
The bones retain their shape, but they're fully cooked and will fall apart easily. After allowing the casserole to cool, I break up the bones as I spoon the casserole into a storage container.
The bones provide valuable marrow and the bone itself will gently clean teeth.

Here's the casserole in it's storage container. Store in refrigerator.
Here's an Elvis portion of his casserole on top of his kibble. Jazz & Nestle also enjoy a proportion size of the casserole. Health and coat condition have been quite favorable for all.


Thank you to the kind Gianna Violin's customer who gave me the idea!

Pet Therapy & TTouch

The two go together like peas and carrots. TTouches as well as pet assisted therapy are both used in patient situations to aid in the healing process. TTouches benefit the animal as well as human, both giver and receiver, as does pet assisted therapy.

TTouches can be beneficial to the therapy animal as well. A balanced animal, emotionally and physically, has an easier task of connecting with a patient. TTouches prior to a visit can center the dog, energize him, or calm him. Whatever is helpful to that individual animal. The animals' handler (the volunteer) can feel benefit from a few self applied TTouches as well.

TTouches post therapy visits can help remove any unwanted energies collected through patient interaction and help restore the animal to balance and equilibrium. "Unwanted" energies? Yes. Illness, emotions, injuries are all stored in the body physically. While touching the therapy animal will improve the patients' energies and their spirits, the "toxic" energy may inadvertently be picked up by the animal. This may explain why some therapy animals seek refuge, sleep, or seem "low energy" after visits. Their body is processing a lot of stuff that can be sped up through a moments' TTouch.

This is true for the handler as well. If a volunteer/handler has ever left a therapy session feeling sad or simply "drained", some TTouches once settled in the car will help lighten the mood considerably and speed recovery time.