I know this post is a little different than usual. I write a blog dedicated to sharing recipes and advice about cooking and entertaining, but this blog is also a reflection of my life. Sometimes I feel like ! share more intimate glimpses than other times, but ultimately this blog is me. And something very meaningful happened to me, and it would be very hard to let it pass me by without acknowledging it.

This past Friday, I lost my Saint Bernard, Henry. More importantly I lost my very best friend of 8 ½ years.

photo credit to Katie Simmons

This was Henry.

photo credit to Katie Simmons

It is funny how your love for an animal can transcend what you would have initially believed was possible.

Just looking at these photos while writing this post makes my heart burst with love and with pride for what a wonderful boy he was.

He was a rescue dog. I found him outside of a Starbucks when I had just moved back to Seattle in my 20’s. At 6 months old and 90lbs already, he was the most adorable thing I had ever seen. When I realized that he was living in a cage with people not prepared to care for him, it didn’t take much for me to throw him in the back of my car and bring him home with me. He and his big soulful eyes haven’t left my side since.

He was a poor puppy that was plagues with health problems the first half of his life: seizures, skin allergies, slipped discs and chronic vomiting and diarrhea. I searched high and low for explanations and eventually, as a last resort, was referred to an animal acupuncturist. With some hesitation, I started Henry’s treatment. The first thing the Dr. did was change his diet. I started making his food myself. Every two weeks I would make up a batch of steamed rice, and mix in ground turkey and whatever leftover vegetables I had in my refrigerator. Was I really going to start feeding him “people food?”

Within 10 days, he went from sickly to a bouncy puppy. No more seizures, no more hot spots, and much to my relief- no more messes! It was incredible.

With regular acupuncture and this diet, Henry went on to live 5 more healthy and glorious years without any more problems.

In my life with Henry, I have often thought of a quote that a friend shared with me many years ago after witnessing our bond:

“Strive to be the person that your dog believes you are.”

Henry was always there to listen, always there to support. He never got mad at me no matter how many walks I missed or how busy I was. And I can only assume that it was because he loved me in the same unconditional way that I loved him.

Henry was the smartest, most sensitive boy, constantly surprising and delighting everyone that met him. He was also terribly vain (lol!) and loved nothing more than to be approached by friends and strangers alike that would swoon over how handsome he was!

Henry was brave and sweet all in one. He let two little baby girls crawl over and under him.

photo credit to Katie Simmons

He took peanut butter and jelly sandwiches from their little sticky hands in the gentlest way, but went onto immediate alert when anyone walked by the yard when they were playing. If I was sick, he slept by bed side, only interrupting his snoring to check on me every so often. He was so brave he once chased a burglar from the roof of our old loft.

And in his last few months he was very brave indeed. He didn’t let us know until the last few weeks that he was even in discomfort. And when I went to have him checked for what I thought was a sprained ankle, I still believed to the core that we had years left together. Henry had girls to help me raise, walks to take, cheese quesadillas to eat, and warm breezes to feel on his furry face.

photo credit to Katie Simmons

But it wasn’t a sprained ankle. It was bone cancer. Aggressive bone cancer. And my heart felt as though it had broken into a million pieces.

When I let him go, I let him leave with his dignity, and surrounded by those who loved him most.

And while I am mourning him and trying to adjust to a daily routine without him, I don’t wish him back, (well most of the time!) because I really believe that he has gone somewhere better. I know that he is somewhere beautiful running and jumping without pain. He can eat all the treats in the world and spend hours wandering and sniffing.

photo credit to Katie Simmons

I know that people lose parents and children, siblings and spouses everyday. I can’t pretend to know that loss, and I don’t compare mine to theirs. I just know my loss, the loss of a beloved friend and a loyal companion. Anyone that has experienced the special love and the bond of a wonderful animal will understand what I am feeling.

I am enclosing the recipe for homemade dog food should anyone wish to experiment with the health of their canine friends. It made all the difference in the world for Henry, and I know many other dogs that have been able to go off meds, and turn their health around. I also know overweight dogs that quickly got to the right weight while eating this natural diet.

(this was how chubbers Henry was before he went on the new diet!)

*This more of a guide than a recipe as each animal is a different size and eats different amounts. I would make several weeks worth and then put them in tupperwear and freeze them.

Homemade Dog Food

Steamed Rice should make up about 50% of the food.
Lean turkey meat (sometimes I would mix in ground pork) should make up 30%
Vegetables 20% (I always have extra veggies on the verge of going limp in my fridge- I just chop them up or give them a whir in my food processor)

Mix it all together and serve warm or at room temperature.

By the way- for anyone trying to help their children with the mourning of a lost pet, this is a poem that has been shared with me and which my kids have found great comfort in. I suppose I have too 🙂

Rainbow Bridge

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.
When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.
They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together….

Author unknown…