TRAVELS (and more) WITH CECILIA BRAINARD: Pets: Being an Angel on a Blue Chariot to Two Dogs

Thursday, May 5, 2016

Pets: Being an Angel on a Blue Chariot to Two Dogs

These two dogs think I'm an angel who visits them regularly. They think I arrive in a blue chariot, the sight of which (it's just my blue car) makes them hysterically ecstatic.

Look at their eager faces. They are thinking of the boiled chicken I fix for them, with some rice, so it's like congee (oh, lucky dogs!).

One chicken makes two meals. The day before, I boil the chicken, add rice, remove the bones, and place the chicken, rice, and broth in four containers.

When I enter the gate, they jump up and down, and I have to remind them of their manners. I talk to them, pet them, get them to relax. Then they sit and watch me get their food. To be fair, each dog has his own bowl. This prevents greed and allows them to eat without stress, otherwise they're competing. Surprisingly, when they start eating, they are a bit shy and glance at me as if to ask permission. I tell them to go ahead and then they eat their special food.

One son has told me it would be more cost-effective if I bought roasted chicken at Costco and debone that. But I don't mind cooking for Sam and Torch. The whole process feels good for the soul.

After they eat, I talk to them, remind them to be good dogs, and I tell them that I love them. They look at me as if they understand. Then Sam, the sheepdog, lays down; that's the sign that he wants me to brush his fur. Torch does not want me to brush him, but he likes to be near me and loves being petted

When I pack my things to go, they look at me, but not sadly, because I have another treat for them. In my car, I have a box of dog bone biscuits, and I get four biscuits for them, two each, and that's the way I say goodbye to them.

Here's an earlier article about how I boil their chicken.

http://cbrainard.blogspot.com/2014/07/cooking-by-cecilia-chicken-soup-for-my.html

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Tags:pets, dogs, dog food, animals, family

This is all for now,
Cecilia

Cecilia Manguerra Brainard

Cecilia Manguerra Brainard's official website is ceciliabrainarddotcom. She is the award-winning author and editor of 22 books, including When the Rainbow Goddess Wept, The Newspaper Widow, Magdalena, Selected Stories, Vigan and Other Stories, and more. She edited Growing Up Filipino 1, 2, & 3, Fiction by Filipinos in America, Contemporary Fiction by Filipinos in America, and other books.. Her work has been translated into Finnish and Turkish; and many of her stories and articles have been widely anthologized. Cecilia has received many awards, including a California Arts Council Fellowship in Fiction, a Brody Arts Fund Award, a Special Recognition Award for her work dealing with Asian American youths, as well as a Certificate of Recognition from the California State Senate, 21st District, and the Outstanding Individual Award from her birth city, Cebu, Philippines. She has lectured and performed at UCLA, USC, University of Connecticut, University of the Philippines, PEN, Shakespeare & Company in Paris, and many others. She has served in the Board of literary arts groups such as PEN, PAWWA (Pacific Asian American Writers West), among others.