by Rachel Pattin, Bow Hill's Community Engagement Manager

As long as I can remember, and even before, my family has had a pet of some sort; cats, guinea pigs, hamsters, and dogs. We’ve gotten them as strays, hand-me-downs, pet stores, former class pets, at the pound, in front of Safeway or found them in the classifieds. I threw them parties as an elementary school student (Guinea Pig party, anyone?!), given them shout-outs in songs I’ve written (Murry the Hamster got a good one) and as long as I can remember, and even before, we’ve given them gifts at Christmas — either wrapped under the tree or in their stockings. Recently, my boyfriend and I picked up a puppy from the Skokomish Reservation and not realizing the irony, I decided to name him Cowboy. I’d written a short jingle about Cowboys on my banjo and I thought it’d be fun to sing to him when I want him to "get along". It goes [strummed and sang to the beat of a horse’s hooves] “Giddy-up on, Cowboy let’s roll on home, giddy-up on, Cowboy, let’s roll. Giddy-up on, Cowboy, let’s roll on home, giddy-up on, giddy-up, roll home.” (And also, because he’s a mix of two breeds of cattle herding dogs.) This is our first Christmas with him and my first since college with a dog, so, naturally, I’m very excited to spoil him with presents come the holidays. For my first puppy’s first Christmas back in 5^th grade, I bought him a bag of dog biscuit mix from Petco. It came with a bone shaped cookie cutter, a bag of the dry ingredients and a set of instructions. He loved them and I loved making them. He has since passed away, but the Christmas biscuit tradition lives on. What better way to spoil a dog than with Bow Hill’s recipe for Bacon and Blueberry Dog Treats*? It uses Bow Hill’s Organic Heirloom Blueberry Powder and other super healthy ingredients for the cutest member of one’s family. Unfortunately, until now, I hadn't thought of making a package like the one I got for Buddy twenty years ago. Maybe by the next holiday season.

*You don’t have to use bacon, there’s are vegetarian and vegan options for these dog biscuits.