#99 - A Dear Friend

Today we are writing to celebrate our dear friend Emmitt. We just learned from his wonderful mom, Melissa, that Emmitt went over the rainbow bridge today into a better place where he will forever be the happy, lovable guy that we all know him to be.

I know how hard it is to lose your best friend, and I am still crying after reading the beautiful post on the pugnotes blog about Emmitt. Even though we never had the chance to meet him, we feel as though he and Melissa are members of our extended family and our hearts are with both of them as Emmitt learns his way in heaven and Melissa finds peace here on earth.

I feel as though there are many things to say, but no words to express them. Emmitt as an all-around wonderful dog who cared for his friends, inspired all he knew, and will always hold a special place on our thoughts.

We send all our love to you, Emmitt, and to your family.

x's & o's - Jess, JD, & Ringo

#98 - Pugs, & Bunnies, & Monkeys, Oh My!

Hello old friends! We've been so busy knitting and making greeting cards that we haven't had even a few moments to stop and enjoy writing a blog to all of you. We have received e-mails and facebook messages from many of you, and we are happy to hear about all of your adventures over the past few weeks.

We have many exciting new things going on with All You Need Is Pug. First, our adorable friend, Tweedles, gave us the idea to make a sock monkey hat and we decided to play with it and had so much fun. Tweedles is incredibly inspirational and creative. She is a wonderful pug, so be sure to visit her blog and say 'hello'! This is the hat that she helped us to come up with:

It has already become a fan favorite on Etsy and it for sale right now. We also can make it in other colors, so if you want something special, be sure to let us know! We love getting inspiration from all of you.

Our second fun new idea came to us when we were creating items for our other shop, LiteraryLuxe. I was making rabbit brooches, inspired by Alice in Wonderland, when I thought how cute JD would look with big, floppy ears. That's when I knew that I had to make this hat happen. I am very happy about it because it ended up on Etsy's home page 2 days in a row, which brought us many wonderful new fans and friends.


To celebrate and share the excitement that we've had here, we've decided to do a give away this week. We will be raffling off a special surprise. Visit the blog on Wednesday afternoon to find out what the prize will be and to enter to win it!

x's & o's

#97 - Carob Cookies for Canines

Hello everyone! It's been so long since we've written, and we've missed you all! To apologize for our absence, we come bearing a recipe for tasty vegan dog treats. These dog treats are wonderful because they are so natural that even humans can enjoy them. Though they aren't as sweet as the cookies that we are used to, they are hearty snacks that you and your pooch can both enjoy.

I found a recipe for dog treats that was full of dairy products and lacked any nutrients, so I decided to come up with my own recipe. Since I've made these a few days ago, JD and Ringo (the pickiest pugs on earth) cannot stop eating them! The great thing about these is that they are softer than most dog "cookies". Since both JD and Ringo have missing teeth and JD was also born with a crooked jaw, neither of them can generally eat dog cookies, so they seem thrilled now that they have found something just for them! Without further ado, here is our recipe:

Hearty Carob Cookies for Canines

Ingredients

• Egg replacer equal to 1 egg (I use Ener-G egg replacer made from potato starch)
• 1/3 cup applesauce
• 1/2 vegetable broth
• 1 tablespoon agave nectar (or honey)
• 6 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1/4 cup canola or safflower oil
• 2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 cups carob chips
• 3 tablespoons of soy or almond milk

Cooking Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 300 F.
2. In a small bowl, combine 3 tbsp of brown sugar and 1 tbsp water.
3. In a large bowl, combine egg replacement, applesauce, broth, agave, the brown sugar mix, and oil.
4. Gradually stir in flour. The dough should be stiff.
5. On a floured surface, roll out dough.
6. Use your preferred shape cookie cutter to make shapes from the dough. (You can also roll them into small balls instead, then slightly flatten the balls down in your palm to make a rounder, puffier treat)
7. Place on lightly greased cookie sheets and bake for 30 minutes, or until the cookies are golden brown.
8. While treats are still warm, use the remaining brown sugar to sprinkle over them.
9. Combine carob chips and soy/almond milk and melt them together in microwave or in a saucepan.
10. Dip half of the each treat into melted carob mix.
11. Place cookies on waxed paper and let stand until carob is set.
    

Just another note: you can use turbinado sugar instead of brown sugar for an even healthier alternative!

The boys can't seem to get enough of these. If you make some for your dogs, be sure to let us know how they like them. This week is a great time to make some heart shaped cookies as a Valentine's Day gift to your furry friend :]

x's & o's