Lucy-Mans best friend- (Unless a womans baking Bacon-Peanut-butter Doggie Treats.)

Old Lucy, laying down eating.This has to be the laziest, sweetest, most gentle dog, that I have ever known.
She rarely leaves my husbands side. It's so sweet, seeing the bond they have. If he watches TV, so does Lucy. If he waters the garden, Lucy's right there looking for insects to snack on. If he takes a shower, she lays outside the door, waiting for him. She whines when she hears him leave for work, then goes to her dog bed, and sleeps all day, until he comes home. But as soon as she hears his car, she's re-animated, like a young puppy.
We have a daily ritual, She greets him at the door, (I've learned to stay out of the way, or else, be trampled and knocked to the floor) Then she runs to me, like she wants to give me the good news, panting loudly, and bounding, and I yell "WooHoo, He's here, He's here!" Then she plops down onto her back, for her belly rub, She loves this game, just like a darn kid.

I think, the one thing, that makes me really love this dog, is the way she is with kids. She loves them. She's the first one to greet the grandkids. (Licks and tail-wags)  If a baby starts crying, she runs to see what's wrong. She's been mauled by many a toddler. (hair pulling, eye poking, canine trampoline, don't worry, we stop them) I have always been nervous, having babies around a large dog, but Old Luc' just licks them in the face, and finds a hiding place, until they go home. But as soon as they leave, out comes the canine vacuum, happily cleaning up all the cookie crumbs and whatnot, that they have dropped on the floor.

A relative gave her to us, about 5 years ago. She'd been found, dumped on the side of the road. The most pitiful looking thing, she was so thin, you could see every rib and vertebrae, and there were signs of abuse. She was so dehydrated, that her skin was hard, like leather, and the vet didn't want to risk any vaccinations, for a few months. She could barely stand up. I really didn't think she would make it. But, she's happy as lark now. As you can see from the photo, she gets a few too many treats. ( I think everyone in the family, sneaks her a few scraps) But, we have a lot of making up to do, for the hard life, she must have led.

The only thing that entices her to leave his side, is cooking. I often find her, laying in front of the stove, while I have something, baking in the oven. She's become a bit finicky about her dog-food, so, we change brands now and then, to give her a change of pace. Occasionally, I'll drizzle it, with a little bacon grease, for a treat. Which eventually led to making dog treats. I save all my bacon grease, for these. The peanut butter and oats, add a lot of protein and iron.

Ingredients:
2eggs
1cup milk-(or use, beef or chicken broth)
2Tbl. peanut butter
6Tbl. melted, bacon drippings-more if you prefer-(or any meat drippings)
dash of garlic powder
dash of onion powder
2 cups old fashioned oats-(whole oats)
2cups flour

Preparation:
Whisk together eggs, milk, peanut butter, bacon drippings, garlic and onion powders.
Stir in the oats, and let stand 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350*
Stir in, 1cup of flour. Knead as much of the remaining cup of flour, as you can, to make a semi stiff dough.
Roll into 1inch balls, place on a greased cookie sheet, and flatten with the palm of your hand.
Bake about 45 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool overnight, and store in the fridge. Makes about 40 crackers.

Flatten the dough-balls on a cookie sheet. I stamp the cookies, so they aren't mistaken for people food.

Bake about 40 minutes, or more, until lightly browned. Once they cool completely, they become crisp and almost hollow, kind of like a cracker. Store in the fridge.