Earth Day

Earth day is an important day for any dog lover, after all dogs are the ultimate nature lovers.  Anyone who owns a dog is given a close appreciation of nature as they watch their dog revel in the grass or the woods on a morning walk. Even living in the city there are many opportunities for dogs to appreciate nature, as long as their owners make an effort.  My dogs love walking in local parks and taking care trips to beaches or wooded hiking areas.  When we lived in Manhattan we had no car, but we walked them in Central Park regularly.   Their favorite section of the park, the bramble, was pretty wooded.  Here is a picture from google images.




There is a great organization Central Park Paws that I still belong too even after moving from Manhattan to Jersey City.  It advocates for the interests of dog owners and makes sure that there are plenty of wonderful places to take dogs in the park.

Here is my favorite picture of Norbert, taken with his Dad in Central Park about five or 6 years ago.

We plan to drive into the city to take a day trip to Central Park with Norbert and Bob soon, luckily the little guys can get there in the carriers or strollers.

One place my dogs love to walk these days is the Palisades.  It has a small beach area that is very nice.  We went there a few days ago, but unfortunately due to the heavy rain it was a bit difficult to get around.  Here are some pictures

The bottom picture is actually an old picture from a previous visit, but it is so cute I had to include it. 

Since dogs are such nature lovers, I think its important for their human guardians to be as eco-conscious as possible.  I try to do this by buying earth friendly dog supplies.  My current favorite source is the eco-conscious dog store Olive Green Dog, and as a bonus they have free shipping for earth day!  

I also recently read the book Eco Dog.   Its a very cute book with a lot of simple, fun, earth friendly dog projects.   Some are definitely beyond my ability (all of the sewing projects) but the recipes are very simple.   Today, I made the easiest dog cookies from the book.   Here is the recipe

Easy Earth Friendly Dog Biscuits

Ingredients:
1 cup wheat germ
2 small jars organic baby food (I used natures best chicken and sweet potato)

Method:
Preheat oven to 350.  Stir together all ingredients in a bowl.  Roll dough in small balls and place on greased baking sheet.  Flatten slightly.  Bake 20-25 minutes.

That's it!  You have easy yummy dog cookies.  The hounds really enjoyed them.   The only thing I would do differently next time is double the batch. 

Happy Earth day everyone!