Ruby Tuesday II – That’s What Friends Are For

We’re almost at 3 weeks post-amputation (tomorrow the 14th). I read a lot of posts where people said it took a few weeks to feel like you did this *for* your pet and not *to* them. I totally get that now. It’s only been in the last couple of days where Ruby seems more like Ruby, and it makes me feel better about my decision.

I’ve got a co-worker who is a huge animal lover.  She’s got two gorgeous German Shepherds, one of which, Thor, is blind. Marsha’s been so supportive and encouraging.  She sent me a link to a harness/sling she’d used when one of her doggies had an ACL injury to help with stairs. She kept asking how it was going and I had to admit that I was just carrying Ruby up and down the stairs. I think I was too scared to even try it. Marsha encouraged me again to use the sling and just show Ruby I was there for her.

Low and behold… we conquered those stairs on the first try! It was slow going, but I was surprised how little support she needed from me to go up. I was even more surprised when she darted down the stairs the next morning on her own before I could get the sling on her. So after weeks of me carrying her up and down (even before the surgery), I found she could handle down just fine, and only needed a little support going up! These tripawds are amazing!

Last night, I had a friend drop off a care package of treats for Ruby and a few for me, too… Chateau La Paws Pinot Noir. It even supports animal shelters! Can’t wait to try that out, too bad I can’t share with Ruby. Funny story, I realized I’d setup our swag in the exact right spot for a picture when I saw my “cone of shame” doggy picture behind it.  It’s a poster from the movie Amelie and it’s been hanging in my house longer than I’ve even had Ruby, but it’s very appropriate now.

Thank you Julie and McKenna!!! Isn’t that bag adorable?

Since tonight is Ruby Tuesday, I finally got around to making the Pupcake recipe I found on this site. I didn’t notice until I was done that yogurt was included in the ingredients, but wasn’t included in the instructions. So, needless to say, I didn’t include it. Whoops! Ruby didn’t seem to mind. 🙂  But if anyone knows what step I should have added the yogurt in, feel free to set me straight! They were super easy so we might be making them again in the future.

Pupcakes! Ruby inhaled the ‘icing’ first. She takes after her person. 😉

The recipe made 12 Pupcakes. One for Ruby, of course. And 11 for the neighborhood doggies. I packaged them up and am planning on handing them out tomorrow. There are tons of dogs in the neighborhood, so it seems only right to share the love.

Note to include with the Pupcakes (along with the recipe).

I found the recipe here:  http://tripawds.com/forums/eating-healthy/pup-cakes-a-treat-shared-by-bellevue-animal-hospital-our-vet/

Grain-Free Pup–Cakes

You’ll need:
1 cup of peanut butter
3 eggs
2 mashed bananas
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup plain yogurt
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp honey

Peanut Butter Icing
6 oz of light cream cheese
4 oz of creamy all natural peanut butter

To make this recipe:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin pan with paper muffin cups. Mix peanut butter, eggs, bananas and honey. Add coconut flour and baking soda. Mix well. Fill muffin cups 3/4 of the way. Bake for 20-25 minutes. To make the icing, blend the cream cheese and peanut butter until creamy. Refrigerate the icing for 20 minutes. Let pup–cakes cool, then ice.

Makes approximately 12 pup–cakes. 200 calories each. (Pay attention to calorie count if your dog is on a diet, and keep in mind that treats should never make up more than 10% of your pet’s daily caloric intake!)