Cute Pet Pic of the Week

How cute does Marley look in his birthday hat?

Pets are an increasingly important part of the family, and giving them a party is a fun way to celebrate one of our least-complicated relationships.

A simple, quick and easy way to make a dog birthday cake is to open a can of their favorite food. Then slide the contents out in one piece and put it on a plate. Now cover with bacon strips and maybe a few small biscuits treats around...Voila, one very simple doggie cake!

You can also make an even yummier dog birthday cake by exerting a tad more effort:

Doggy Layer Cake

Ingredients: 3 cups flour, 1 T. baking powder, 1/2 cup margarine-softened, 6 eggs-beaten, 1/2 cup corn oil, 2 jars strained chicken baby food, 2 cups finely shredded carrots, plain or vanilla yogurt, 2 or 3 strips of bacon-fried crisp, crumbled, or bacon-flavored jerky strips, cut into bits.

Preheat oven 325F

Generously grease and flour two 8" round cake pans. In a mixing bowl, beat softened margarine until smooth. Add eggs and corn oil, mix well. Add strained chicken and shredded carrots, mix until smooth. Add flour and baking powder and mix thoroughly, (mix should resemble light batter). Pour batter into the 2 prepared 8" cake pans. Bake for approximately 1 hour. Let the dog birthday cake cool for a few minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.

Icing the cake: Place one layer on a serving plate and spread yogurt over top. Then add a second layer and repeat for each layer. Spread yogurt on top and sides of entire cake and sprinkle crumbled bacon or bits of jerky strips over top. Why not use "Pupperoni" sticks for candles.

Thanks Jana for sending in this fun pic!

Do Dogs Have Souls?

Let me tell you a little story.

When I was five years old, we had a black cocker spaniel named Priscilla. One summer day we went to the beach and when we returned, we found Prissy, dead in the shade under the twisted wisteria bush. She was an old dog and seemed to have died in her sleep.

My mom and dad cried. Prissy had been with them long before me. She was like a child to them, especially when they thought they could have no more children.

My mom got a soft quilt, and even though it was very hot outside, they wrapped Prissy's body in it. My dad began to dig a grave in the garden.

I watched my dad dig for a bit and then I went inside.
I found my mom rearranging quilts in the linen closet.
I asked her, "Ma, do dogs go to Heaven?"
She looked pained, like she did whenever she had to tell me something I would not like.

"Well, the church says dogs have no souls, so they can't go to heaven," she said. "So we have to enjoy them while we have them."

Well.

She was right, I didn't like that answer.

I went back outside.

My dad was shoveling a last spade of dirt onto the grave.
He wiped his face with a white handkerchief and stood back. He genuflected and said a Hail Mary for Prissy.

When he was finished, I said, "Daddy, Mom said dogs don't go to Heaven."

He walked over to a big pine tree in the yard, leaned his shovel against it and shook out a cigarette from the pack in his pocket.
He looked very tall to me, standing there in his khaki pants, his skin dark against his white t-shirt.

"Well," he said. "Don't we have everything we want in Heaven?"

I nodded.

"Ok, don't we want our dogs with us?"

Big nod.

"Well then."

I looked up at him and beyond him to the blue sky punctuated with a few puffy white clouds. I could imagine Prissy up there, looking down at us, wagging her little stub tail and drooling a bit, anticipating us joining her.

I was satisfied.

That was one of the best gifts my dad ever gave me.

Breakfast so Good, You Won't Even Know it's Vegan

Banana Muffins
These moist and delicious muffins will please even the pickiest of eaters.

3 ripe bananas
1/4 cup oil or melted margarine
1 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional—see other options listed below)
• Mash bananas (overripe ones make the best bread). Add oil/margarine and sugar. Mix well.
• Sift the flour, salt, and baking soda together and add to the banana mixture. Mix until the flour is blended (do not beat).
Pour into muffin pans or a bread pan and bake at 360°F until a toothpick comes out clean.

Optional: Add a handful of walnuts, oatmeal, raisins, chocolate chips, currants, coconut, or all of the above!

Makes 1 Dozen Muffins

Add some fresh fruit and you've got yourself a delicious vegan breakfast. Yum!

DIY IKEA-Pet Bed For Your Furry Tailed G. Costanza

No, that's not a George Costanza inspired hide-away bed for a small statured (and neurotic) person up above. It's the IKEA-hack creation of IAmStylish.com's Tiffany, who with the help of her husband, crafted a dog bed for their two adorable dachshunds (photos of the two below) using two Expedit desks, a Bastis Flack pet bed reupholstered with the Inger fabric to create one inviting napping space for the pups...



"It is basically two tables stuck together. Do not ask me about how it was assembled as I don't go anywhere near power tools, actually any kind of tools. J handled that part. I however, took the ugly dog bed (which was covered in black and white spots) and covered it with the fabric. I then took one of their favorite blankets and sewed the fabric on top so that underneath is their favorite plushy furry fabric that they can snuggle under. I found a little pillow in our closet and sewed up a pillow case just for a laugh. I like that it makes it look like a human bed. "

Check out Tiffany's pet project in full at her site here.

Celebrity Cuteness

Jake may not have Reese anymore but he'll always have the love of his 2 snouts, Boo Radley (puggle) and Atticus Finch (German Shepherd).



Named after the hero of To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch was adopted from L.A. animal shelter, New Leash on Life, by Jake Gyllenhaal and then-girlfriend Kirsten Dunst.

Boo, as Jake said on Ellen "Is a joy to have around and makes me smile every time I see him."

Aww, could any of them get any cuter?!

Canine Companions for Independence

Canine Companions for Independence® provides highly-trained assistance dogs for children and adults with disabilities, free of charge.

The dogs perform physical chores for disabled people, serve as “skilled companions” to disabled children, as hearing dogs for deaf people and as “facility dogs” working in hospitals and schools.

Wounded Veteran Initiative is one of their newer programs. I found this video showing Pike with his new companion, Yazmin. Pike was on a foot patrol with the 82nd Airborne near Tikrit on March 26, 2007, just 30 meters from his compound, when he was felled by a single shot that passed through his abdomen.




He heard about Canine Companions at a Veterans Affairs clinic last year and applied for a canine partner. Determined to live a full life, Pike has climbed rocks and is practicing with the coach of the U.S. Paralympic archery team.

With Yazmin, he has both an enabler and a friend with a wet nose and wagging tail.

“She’s a great companion,” he said. “When she gets up in the morning, she’s excited to see me.”

To learn more, visit www.cci.org.

Santa Paws

'Ruff' Times Ease Thanks to this Florida Boy and His Mom

Nine year old Zach Wilson went to a shelter to pick out a new dog. As he walked through the shelter he became upset. He looked at his mother and said, "There are so many". When he asked the rescue worker why they had so many animals, they replied; "People are giving up their animals because they can no longer afford them." The next morning Zach told his mom "We need to feed the dog's. Not our dog, ALL dogs!" He was right. We do need to feed the dogs and keep them at home with their family. Out of shelters.

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Please visit animalpantry.org to learn more and help out any way you can.

All things dog

Welcome to the Sepio blog; a comprehensive site full of ideas, links, and ways to help. Here you will find healthy dog food and treat recipes as well as animal friendly people recipes, cute pet pics, pet product reviews and people doing great things to help animals.

Might as well start with a recipe!

Peanut Butter Goodness Dog Treats

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups white flour
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 cup water
2 tablespoons oil


Preheat the oven to 350 F. Combine oil, peanut butter and water. Add flour, one cup at a time, forming a dough. Knead dough into firm ball and roll to 1/4 inch thickness.

Cut into 3 to 4 inch pieces. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 F for 20 minutes. Makes 2 1/2 dozen cookies.


Prep time is about 20 minutes.