- 1 lb liver
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 cups flour (brown rice or whole wheat)
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp bullion paste (optional)
Puree the liver in a food processor. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix. Spread onto parchment paper on pan and bake at 350 for 1/2 hour. Cut into small squares and put back in oven at 275 until crisp.
Recipe credit to Deb Holmes.
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The very beloved dog turned 15 this week. She got liver treats for her birthday and ate them eagerly. I’m always happy when she eats eagerly — it doesn’t happen very often. The vet thinks that’s caused by anaplasmosis, a tick-borne disease that she tests positive for, but a month of antibiotics hasn’t made any difference to her appetite and I am not going to continue to torture her with them.
So she probably has permanent anaplasmosis to go along with the permanent erhlichiosis and the canine dementia. If she showed any signs of being in pain, I would be facing hard decisions, but in fact, she seems perfectly happy. Well, as long as I’m in the room she seems perfectly happy. She complains piteously if I leave her, which can be hard on whoever I’ve left her with. Hard on her, too, of course — she’s the one who’s crying! Anyway, I try not to leave her much.
We still go for walks, we still snuggle, she still plays with her toys. She doesn’t respond to voice commands anymore — or only very rarely. That’s the canine dementia in action. But she knows her hand signals and follows them without hesitation. She doesn’t need to be on a leash either, although we still use one when we go for walks. The leash used to be mostly about squirrels — she’d never run away, but she was definitely going to chase a squirrel wherever it took her. The squirrels are safe now.
Her eyes are still bright, she is still curious. She snores now, though, which she didn’t use to, and I rather love it. It’s not a big snore, just a sweet snore. Sometimes I lie awake and listen to her breathe, and dread the day that the van falls silent. That silence is going to hurt. But it’s not silent yet and it reminds me to appreciate every day I get with her. I’ve had a lot more of them than I expected to have in May 2018 or July 2019, so I’m counting my blessings. I am very lucky. And she is very beloved.
Happy Birthday to the Divine Ms Z. I smile when I think of this little white dog who wouldn’t eat much of anything eagerly gobbling up liver treats at my house. And sitting patiently waiting for more with my dog. Missy had her 10-year-old check-up and the vet said she wouldn’t be surprised if Missy made it to 15 or 16 — not too shabby for a medium/large dog who was at death’s door five years ago. I stroke her soft ears as she lies next to me on the bed and know that every day is a blessing, no matter how many or how few we have together. Dogs have it right — embrace each moment and enjoy them all. Living in the moment may be easier if you’re a dog with a human who will make you liver treats.
Missy’s a lucky dog! She doesn’t have to wait for her birthday to get liver treats. 🙂
I’m going to keep your recipe for liver treats. We don’t have a dog but there are two dogs next door — Ruby’s canine house companions — and I’ll eventually bake some up for them. Thanks for sharing! And a very happy birthday to Z; she’s a sweetheart.
Dogs adore them, but you really do need a good food processor. Pureed liver is not delightful to human beings.
Happy Birthday Zee!
She says, “Thank you!” (Or rather she says, “snore, snore” but I imagine she would say “thank you” if she knew what I was saying to her. 🙂 )