The day Blitzkrieg passed away, his favorite uncles and the only people we trusted to watch Blitzkrieg when we were out of town because they followed his rules (our parents often broke them because they thought Husband and I were too strict not realizing those rule are what turned Blitzkrieg from the abused fear biter to the confident goofball cuddle bug he came to be) immediately came over with wine and food.
Yes they brought food. We are Midwesterners and that's what you do when there is a death in the family. You bring food.
Tim made kitchen magic with his a little of this and that gazpacho.
Andrew went straight for the heart and proudly presented Husband and I with carrot soup.
Husband and I were appreciative of their gesture but may have come off as rude. Husband quickly shuffled the carrot soup to the kitchen and into the refrigerator. He later said he hoped he didn't come off as rude, but he was afraid he was going to break down because our friends know us and our boy so well. It was perfect.
Carrots were Blitzkrieg's favorite high value treat.
The first time our friends met Blitzkrieg, Husband and I forgot to bring treats. They had a plate of baby carrots and dip for the human guests. We used them to show our friends the tricks Blitzkrieg learned in obedience class to help combat his then anxiety In an amazing amount of trust of our then fearful dog, Blitzkrieg for the first time ever, followed the commands from another person other than Husband and I.
Blitzkrieg left that night in a happy carrot coma.
From that first visit we referred to them as The Uncles Carrot. They loved to stuff Blitzkrieg full of carrots. Blitzkrieg being the gracious guest, let them.
You have no idea how hard it was to get a photo of Blitzkrieg licking his lips.
Off camera carrots were involved.
Our vet was ecstatic one of Blitzkrieg's high value treats was low calorie carrots. She encouraged Blitzkrieg's carrot treat habit because nobody likes a porky Peke! For the first three years of behavioral rehabilitation, we went through
a lot of treats.
Something happened in Blitzkrieg past where being covered in a blanket or towel was a trigger.
Being able to put him in this tote and him not freaking out for a Condo Blues review is a testament to how far our boy had come. Of course two things were involved 1. my camera 2. earning carrots by posing for photos
Tim always bought a bag of baby carrots for Blitzkrieg when they invited him over for dinner and allowed Husband and I drive Blitzkrieg over.
Because Blitzkrieg loved earning treats for photos, he ran to me whenever he heard the camera shutter click when I took blog tutorial photos. That's why there were so many photos of Blitzkrieg on my blogs. He either walked into the photo and wouldn't leave until he earned his carrot treat or he barked and was obvious until I took a photo of him so he could earn his carrot treat. As a result, I eventually got him to pose for photos like this sword and twine photo we took for The Bloggess.
With the comforting soups safely in the refrigerator, the four of us drank wine and shared stories of Blitzkrieg that night.
Real men are not afraid to cry.
We hugged.
Later, Husband and I ate comforting soups.
Five months have passed. Some days the Pekingese size hole in my heart closes a bit more. Lately, with my birthday passing and Christmas coming, it is opening again. Blitzkrieg loved Christmas. He had no idea about the baby Jesus or Hanukkah candles and miracle oil lamps. All he knew is when the tree went up in the living room, there was a new cushy space under the tree for him to curl up on and eventually the pack leaders will divide the spoils under the tree and in those weird socks hanging over the fireplace because his humans "got" how dog packs live and work.
I could use a bowl of carrot soup. Do you have a recipe?
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Indian Carrot Soup – 4 servings
(I always at least triple this recipe and freeze most of it since it freezes well.)
2 t. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 t. curry powder
¼ t. ground coriander
¼ t. ground cardamom
4 carrots, peeled and cut into 1” chunks
3 cups low-sodium chicken stock or vegetable stock (I used veg. stock for yours)
¼ c. low-fat yogurt
carrot curls and mint sprigs, to garnish
1. In a medium nonstick saucepan, heat the oil. Saute the onion until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the curry powder, coriander and cardamom; cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add the carrots and broth; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the carrots are tender, about 20 min. Strain the broth into a large bowl.
2. In a food processor or blender, puree the carrots with 1 cup of the broth. Stir the puree into the remaining broth; refrigerate, covered, until chilled. Serve, topped with the yogurt and garnished with a carrot curl and mint sprig.
OR
after the carrots are cooked, just use a blender stick on the whole thing and serve hot.
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