A conversation at our house recently, which if overheard might have left some (non-dog) people wondering:
Dadz – I get a turkey or ham again for the holiday from work. I chose ham. I figured we just got a turkey for Thanksgiving, even though we donated it to your family dinner.
Momz – No, let’s get a turkey. That way we can share it with the dogs.
Dadz – Oh yeah, I didn’t think of that. Turkey it is.
Then, not long after that….with the Dadz already instructed to bring home a beef roast for Christmas:
Dadz – What size beef roast do you want me to get?
Momz – I don’t know. You’re the meat man (he is a meat cutter), you figure it out. Enough for 2 meals.
Dadz – OK.
Momz – Oh, and don’t forget to get extra – for the dogs.
Dadz – Of course.
I’m not sure there’s a lot we do around here that doesn’t revolve around the dogs, Samantha, or our farm birds. I got thinking about how silly some of that stuff might seem, like planning our own meals on what the dogs might need. So here are 8 other things we did recently, that might look a little crazy to someone that isn’t over the top about their pets:
- When I cooked that beef roast on Christmas day? I was following a recipe for my new instant pot, but I left out any ingredients that weren’t dog safe. That way the crew could have plenty of the leftovers!
- We recently decided to re-arrange the furniture in my office, which I’d been wanting to do for a while. The office is also the room where Samantha eats and hangs out. We could move furniture, but we had to keep the basic footprint the same in the room….so as not to confuse our mostly blind cat. We had to leave her tower in kind of an odd place, so she could still use it to get down from the shelf by the window (her usual route is over the futon). I also put a mat on the floor in front of the heat vent, and that’s her new favorite spot to sleep.
We re-arranged so I could have easy access to those built-in cabinets. Sam’s tower is still there for her, but easier to move out of the way than the futon was! - We plan to replace that fixed picture window with windows that open, so Sam can have more fresh air (it will help heat escape that room in the summer too though, and be more energy efficient, so it’s not ALL about Sam).
- Just before Christmas we got an ice storm. I spent about 20 minutes walking back and forth, back and forth in the dog’s yard to break up the ice so they could play in the softer snow underneath with no crust. It wasn’t that difficult, but it was a bit tedious! I think they appreciate it, and we’re still playing in that same area, because the snow is so deep in the rest of the yard.
Playing on their “runway’! - I was cooking oatmeal for breakfast recently. No, I don’t eat oatmeal, I don’t like the mushiness of it. I was then seen carrying a tray of dishes of warm oatmeal across our yard – to the chickens coop on a cold morning.
- The rest of it was for the dogs.
- I spent some time researching on the internet how to keep our birds as happy as possible in the cold winter. In addition to making oatmeal, I was then seen spreading straw along the ground by their coop door (so they didn’t have to walk in the snow).
I guess patio lounge chairs aren’t just for summer! - The Dadz was seen setting up a patio lounge chair for them to sit up on out of the snow (and they were happy for both things, as you can see in the photo!) I also made homemade suet for them, and we hung it in the coop, to give them something to do when stuck inside!
When we say “it’s all about the animals” around here, we really mean it! What’s the silliest thing you’ve ever done for your pets?
The oatmeal really gave me an, “Awwww….” moment. 🙂
I don’t do a lot of cooking for the dogs, but I do run to Trader Joe’s, which is 5 towns away (about a 20 minute ride) and a good portion of my groceries are for the dogs. 6 bags of pineapple tidbits at $1.99 per bag, 3 jars of Organic Coconut Oil at $5.99 a jar, 3 jars of Organic Applesauce at $3.99 a jar, and 3 bags of Organic Banana Chips at $3.99 per bag. My grocery bill was $133.00, the dog’s portion of that was $53.76. 😀
I love it!! I wish we had a Trader Joe’s around here. I have trouble finding some things like coconut oil and applesauce at a decent price. Oh, I have to think about banana chips next time I’m shopping though. I know Luke would love those but I never think of it! (I just got up and added it to my shopping list!).
I have a dehydrator and really should make my own, but I can only do so much! 🙂
Your such great animal people, what you do around your house sounds like my house too!
Thank you!!
Their devotion is unconditional! For that, we also need to do some crazy for them as well.
So true!!
Mama does da same fing efurything revolves around us or human brudder 😉 BOL MOL
xoxo,
Matt & Matilda
Of course it does! ♥
Mom spends a lot of time every day rearranging things so we can all be happy around here. She says it’s what mom’s do and it makes her happy to do it. BTW, thought the post thing was fixed, but I never got this one in my email, saw it on FB. Darn it!
Your Mom does so much with you girls! She is right, that is what Moms do.
Yeah, I was afraid of that….it’s definitely on my list for this week to finally get that done, I’ve been putting it off for too long hoping it would fix itself. I know you’re not the only one that isn’t getting all the posts. 🙁
Almost everything I do revolves around my animals. I have even done the oatmeal for my chickens.
Good job, Edie!! We wonder why the chickens surround us when we go out there….they are as bad as the dogs, constantly looking for their treats. 🙂
Often I sit in my recliner, and I don’t want the footrest up, but malakai sits at my feet with his blanky In his mouth wagging his tail and staring waiting for me to put the footrest up so he can get on it, SO I DO!! Then i have to cover him up because he likes to be under the covers. Doesn’t matter if I’m hot or want to sit up!!
You are powerless to resist that adorable stare! 🙂
leaving the toilet seat up for our cat, Chaos, once he decided that was his favorite place to pee. So many other things over the years with all of our pets…but the toilet seat was the most unusual.
I definitely remember that!!
OMD, I LOVE IT!!!! I admonish hubby every time he gives the girls ANY of his meals. NOT so much because the food itself is bad for them, but because he POURS the salt on instead of sprinkling it. And that much table salt is bad enough for him, never mind the dogs with their barely managed IBS. BUT, that aside, hubby really does love the girls. He wears three layers of clothes and jackets just to be able to let them spend extra time in the yard and plays with Ducky while I feed Shadow or vice-versa. And me? Well, there are so many crazy things I do I can’t even start writing them down any more.
My hubby has learned to check with me first to be sure something is OK to give them. And we both often leave one bite of something on our plate. I almost finished my whole banana this morning and forgot to give Luke the last bite! Luckily I remembered right before it went into my mouth. LOL
That was a most wonderful list and your critters sure love the attention and care!
And they have come to expect no less. 🙂
We are taken into consideration for everything that’s done around here. It’s not crazy at all. After all, us animals are part of the family too!
You are absolutely right about that!
too many to list lol
I can imagine! I probably could have done a list of 25 at least. LOL
I thought of another one. Despite my strong desire to journal, especially prior to napping when I still have lots of thoughts whirling around (I nap for health reasons), I don’t because Callie lays on my right side so I need that hand free to pet her.
I love it!!!
Heh, heh…I always make a little extra to give the pups too! No wonder they sit patiently acting like they’ve been starved to death while I cook. And yet I don’t mind and am happy they like the green beans, blueberries, cheese and pumpkin. 😊 P.S. Hope things warm up a bit for the gang to enjoy.
Mmm….those are all some of Luke’s favorites! (Cricket doesn’t go as much for the fruits and veggies, unless they’re really mixed in with something else).
We did get a warm spell to enjoy, and even though it’s frigid again today,it’s supposed to moderate a bit after this, and be to more normal winter temps (20’s and 30’s).
Hmmm, aside from nodding my head along with most of what you wrote already, we do quite a few things in regards to our animals that make other people laugh at us.
Despite the fact that Callie can jump on and off the couch with ease (we have seen this in action several times) she acts as though she can’t and thus has always had her own stairs to the couch – which we have to move if I move to the other couch.
We ran out of canned food the other day to go with their boiled beef, so instead of just giving them extra beef, I made eggs to top their food because I felt bad.
OH, here’s a really good recent one – my wife and I were cuddling and napping in bed in the afternoon one day and Callie has decided naptime is snuggle time with ME; so when she came up on the bed she sat at the bottom looking back and forth between us, shooting daggers at my wife and pleading with me. We acquiesced and moved apart so Callie could come be in the middle.
I think we do more things for her than we do for Charlie because she is a former puppy mill breeder and it feels like she should be utterly spoiled for the rest of her life. Charlie is a puppy mill rescue but came here at three months; he gets plenty of spoiled puppy love, but not like what we do for Callie.
Yup, we have stairs to the couch and to our bed! (not that Luke uses them all the time like he should, but Cricket does).
One day my hubby was going to give the dogs plain dry food because we didn’t have any toppers readily available! I was horrified – they don’t eat plain dry food anymore!! I quickly found something (eggs are always good) 🙂
I can understand that you might spoil Callie a little more than Charlie…I tend to give Luke more attention because he’s so fearful and needy.
Oh, and my hubby and I rarely get to sleep right next to each other, or sit on the couch next to each other either….Luke is almost always in between us! 🙂
This doesn’t sound crazy to me…after all, we’re the family with ramps installed at every doorway leading outside so Daisy doesn’t hurt her leg or back again – everyone who comes here for the first times expects one of us to be in a wheelchair! We carry ramps of different lengths whenever we travel with Daisy – one long one so she doesn’t have to jump out of the car and reinjure her back or leg, and a shorter one to help her get up and down high curbs onto grass (also recommended by her surgeon). You should see the looks we get when we put that short ramp down on curbs – people think we’re nuts! We couldn’t care less, we’re happy to be their momentary entertainment, as long as we’re protecting our little girl.
Why not give people something to talk about? One thing we crazy pet parents learn quickly is not to care about what other people think anyway….we’re going to do what we have to to keep our furry family happy and healthy!
We have beautiful old wood floors in our home, but most of them are covered with throw rugs so the dogs don’t slip! 🙂
I don’t think this sounds crazy at all! My mom and I were in Target before I headed back home and she asked if I wanted a trail mix package for a road trip and I said, “Yes!” and then looked at the ingredients and said, “Well, maybe I should get something the dogs could share instead.” I ended up with a bag of Smart Food cheddar popcorn so I could occasionally slip a piece to the girls in the back seat! When Soth started making perilous leaps off the back of a rocking chair to get to the top of my closet in the old apartment, I bought him a 6-foot tower so he could easily get up there instead of trying to find some way to keep him from being able to open the closet doors. So, if your list is crazy, I’m right there with you!
I love it!! I often choose snacks based on what the dogs can share, and then when I have something they can’t have, I feel guilty!
love it… and I nodded like crazy specially for n°1… how is your instant cooker? is it good? I would like one too for phenny’s meat, think it can save a lot of time…
Katty, definitely get one! I’ve used stove-top pressure cookers my entire adult life – thanks to a Mom who taught me how – but the Instant Pot can do so much more (except canning) than just pressure cook. I might start making food for my girls again because of it.
Yes, Katty, do!! I have only used mine a few times now but I already love it. It will save you a TON of time!