by Hope
I’ve recently returned to making my dog’s food. I did it for years after we first got our dog’s in Georgia, primarily because of Cali’s sensitive stomach. I’ve returned for the same reason. I don’t know if it’s the environment change, nerves, old age, or what, but she began having regular accidents in the house after our move.
My dad has been very gracious to allow us here, especially the dogs. And he’s great at helping with them when I’m away from the house. (No doggy door here.) In fact, he kept Cali here while I travelled for Beauty’s wedding – his idea, not mine.
After trying dietary changes, schedule changes, nothing was working. Since switching to homemade food again…no more accidents.
The Details
Each batch of food is costing me around $12-15. And they last for 4-5 days. So it will end up costing me a little more than the Iams kibble they’ve been eating. But no more clean…priceless!
They are getting a variety of chicken, carrots, peas, spinach, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, and eggs for the most part. Then I have a food topper, two of them, that makes sure they are getting all the nutrients I might have missed with the recipes I am doing. I’ll probably add some beef in soon, but we are making sure it works for their tummies first.
Business?
My dad sees me doing this. Has already commented on the improvement in the dogs health and asks why I don’t make it a business. Of course, I had to share that I had thought of that…but it’s too regulated. So I just do it for my dogs. But I thoroughly enjoy it.
Hope is a resourceful, solutions-driven online business manager with over two decades of experience helping clients streamline operations, manage projects, and grow their businesses through digital marketing and technology.
But life has a way of rewriting your plans.
A year ago, Hope made the decision to move in with her aging parents full time – a season she wouldn’t trade, even as it came with its own financial and emotional weight. Earlier this year, she lost her mother, and is now walking the tender, disorienting path of grief while learning what “forward” looks like from here.
Hope came to the Blogging Away Debt community in 2015 as a single mom raising five foster and adoptive children. She’s written through job changes, financial setbacks, and the bittersweet transition to an empty nest. Her kids are finding their footing in the world now – and so is she.
Rooted in faith and fueled by the same perseverance she’s brought to every hard season, Hope is ready to face her finances with fresh eyes and an honest pen. She believes that clarity, courage, and community can change the trajectory of anyone’s story including her own.
She lives in Austin, TX with her dad, loves adventures with her dog Addie, and is figuring out, one step at a time, what this next chapter is meant to be.
