Chicken, Barley and Veggies for Dogs

A tribute to time, love, carbs, and veggies.

It was hard going through my photos to post this recipe. I had to stop and cry a while, just sitting and letting myself feel the ache created by a void infinitely larger than the 50 pounds of space it once occupied.

We lost our Andy Bobby to cancer on November 9, 2020. The heartbreak was crushing. Anyone who has lost a dear, sweet furry family member knows. Even when you see the closing of your time together on the horizon, it's impossible to be prepared for the loss.

love at first sight

Andy was the puppy I just had to have.

Doug and I were shopping for suits for him, and a shelter had some dogs at the mall for the afternoon. They were packing up for the day when I saw him. I will always remember him rooting around in a potato chip bag that he found on the floor, his little puppy hind end sticking out, as the staff members were gathering their things and the dogs.

The shelter only permitted adoptions from their facility, and they would be closing soon after they got back from the mall event. I didn't have much time to convince Doug that we HAD to go find the shelter and get that puppy.

fast talker

I never talked so fast in my life. We were standing in the mall parking lot, ready to leave as I was pleading my case. Doug asked, incredulously, "Kim. FOUR dogs?!?!" I said, "Yes, but the others are older and all in their routines. It's just one puppy, and he'll learn from them. I can go home every day at lunch to let him out. He can be with you and Dougie every other weekend. Eleven is a good age for a boy to have a dog. Please, please, please, please, PLEASE!"

I used all the ammo I had, shamelessly playing the boy card. Doug reluctantly caved, and we were off to find a shelter we had never heard of, out in the country, forty minutes away. It was a crazy goose chase with no mapping and limited Internet, but we did it!

a few things about andy bobby

• We called him Andy Puppy until we saw "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby". He became Andy Bobby before the film credits finished, and the name stuck his entire life.
• Andy Bobby was very sweet boy and a particularly talented stare-er. He loved to ride shotgun and hold hands while I drove, gazing at me with his adoring soft brown eyes and making me feel like the most perfect, beautiful driver ever.
• Early each morning he would wake Doug, and they would head downstairs to sit on the sofa and meditate together.
• He enjoyed taking a morning walk around the perimeter of the yard with his Basset Hound sister, Paisley. He also loved playing with Paisley in the living room, but he would stop as soon as he realized he was being watched.
• Andy Bobby acted like a ferocious yard guard, but he didn't have an aggressive bone in his body. He shied away from confrontation and had a heart of gold.
• Andy Bobby was afraid of super windy weather. Twice on really windy days, I opened my eyes while showering to find him sitting in there with me.
• Andy Bobby was wild about carbohydrates and loved vegetables. And that is why this recipe was created. It's a nice alternative to our Chicken & Rice for Dogs recipe as a way to supplement your pup's meals.

I will always be grateful that we somehow found that shelter and adopted Andy. It was fate, and we got to spend nearly fifteen years with him. My heart dog. As I would often tell him, "There's no one like you, Andy Bobby. No one."

Everyone thinks they have the best dog.
And none of them is wrong.