Douglas E. and Rosemary “Mamie” Adkins
This time of year we are all wondering what it is †hat we want in life as a gift or that special event that fills our futures with memories. Have you ever considered what the most important things are in life to you? What if you had the chance to rethink what your greatest wish for a gift for the holidays would be? Would it be a hot new car, a favorite doll, perhaps a video game, or a new cell phone?
What if you had the opportunity to make a difference in someone else's life? Let's think about this for just a minute. Are all of your wishes for just a thing or possession that's the newest rage, or do you really want to wish for a gift from Heaven?
We did! After being so alone and sad because of the loss of our truly great friend Sandy (chocolate lab), our lives were empty and with little meaning. Sure, we had all the things retired people think they want. No alarm clock demanded we hurry out the door to punch in at another location to spend the following eight or so hours at work, and we watched television when we wanted to, leisurely sat around and enjoyed our coffee, maybe exchanged our plans for the day, or just waited for the time to pass so we could grab that nap! WOW.....Now all that sounds truly exciting! Or does it? Somehow all those privileges don't sound much like a wish or a special dream.
Next month will mark our one year anniversary when we sat around enjoying all of those sweet memories of quiet boredom, enjoying every minute of them, but secretly both of us were missing our sweet chocolate lab Sandy and the gifts of happiness with love she had filled our entire home with from the living room to the bedroom.
Our secret longing did not last much longer, for soon we found ourselves holding a tiny new puppy that was alone, abused, afraid and whose spirit had been broken and taken from her. Suddenly she became our reality. Had we lost our minds as seniors by getting ready to adopt an infant?
Truly we would like to believe not but the first few months we had to wonder what we were thinking by bringing home a small childlike puppy that was about to steal away all the boring but often peaceful times of our lives and turn them into days where nothing was ever going to be our own again-- or so the thoughts that raced through our minds!
I suppose you would like a name or to know something about her? Well, meet Maggie as we first saw her at eight weeks, so frightened and cringing into herself without movement or the slightest desire for life. But she changed our lives forever!
DRUM ROLLS PLEASE......HERE'S MAGGIE
This is the puppy that came home with us at 8 weeks of age, so dark and fluffy we could barely see her eyes:
LIFE OF A NEW PARENT
Do you remember when we told you we would sit around and watch television at will? Our life now was to be special seating on the kitchen floor and the television screen was actually Maggie in motion. She was too insecure to spend one minute alone so the floor was
the seating of choice rather than recliners, and it was where our baby would hang out gathering her confidence in the lap of her new Dad.
For Mommy, weeks were now spent hiding her feet behind bars, gates, heavy boots, and cabinets to avoid being eaten by †heir new puppy that had been obviously mistreated by a woman with dark shoes. But †hat took a few months to learn as we became acquainted with antibiotic creams after being greeted by teeth!
Remember we asked you if you could have only one wish for whatever you wanted in life? For Maggie’s Mommie it was to love her puppy and to take away the fear in her heart so she would trust and be happy again, so that Mommie did not have to stand behind gates to protect her feet; and for Maggie’s Daddy it was to get off the floor and sit in his chair again, but even more, he wanted his baby to be happy and unafraid and able to play without fear of being slapped or beaten.
They were Big wishes and likely the thoughts of this sweet puppy--She must have dreamt of being free to play without fear. So the three of them shared a
common wish for a gift--To be happy, a family without fear and to be loved. What greater gift could anyone ask for--Heaven-sent for the three of us!
By the time Maggie had become a few months old, we had survived the rigors of early parenthood and found we needed to get her into training as she’d displayed the desire to learn so much and needed exercise. Ha! That was a laugh to us…we were already so tired but now came training…but for who or which one of us? Our adorable baby had us just where she wanted, and with training I’m sure we would be the perfect parents!
So off we went to training two days a week in one place and three days at another. WOW were we tired and trained really well. Maggie was the perfect trainer for her parents and they loved every minute when not rushing to take a nap when she slept!
This wonderful, sweet Maggie not only saved our lives from boredom, but she literally saved my life when she woke me from a deep sleep when I was ill. She earned her merits in one night and then kept doing the same for her Mommie many times thereafter. It was not long before we could sit in our chairs again and stand without shoes while loving one another.
Maggie loves our deck where we will barbecue and picnic at varying times of the year. Afterwards, she even loves to lick my fingers of the toasted marshmallows cooked over the coals. Yes, there are no barriers anymore as our baby has learned to trust us and fear of us has finally left her, and there are many ways she will allow us to help her with the rest of her fears. And Mommie has no fear either for her
feet any longer!
During this time, we decided that out of necessity, we would have to devise a special diet for Maggie. Due to Maggie’s owner’s negligence and severe abuse while she was a puppy, Maggie was undernourished and did not develop a proper immune system or intestines which functioned properly. So every day we studied nutrition from spices and vitamins to the oils and cuisine she enjoyed that would aid us in getting her well. She suffered so many gastric issues and over the counter food was not working. We were determined that our baby was not going to be sick, and now we found ourselves cooking her meals and treats so we would know that everything that went into her mouth was a healthy, human grade ingredient.
Little Maggie made great strides with not only her fear issues but also her ability to retain her food and start growing like any normal dog. Now our treats were as our vet recommended and he was pleased with how Maggie was eating and growing. Who says life can’t be grand even in the little things in life? Maggie was heaven-sent to us and we were never going to lose her because of her bad start in life.
Just look at her play! She was so proud of herself as she watched the treats bake in the oven and she ate her fill before running outside to romp in the grass.
This is our angel!
Our diary grew from all the recipes and treats and the fun stories also grew, written by both my husband Doug and me, and we found people laughing at the stories Doug posted on Facebook. We decided to write a book using these recipes and short stories and to offer a cookbook that was different from any other.
HISTORY OF HOW MAGGIE’S KITCHEN TAILS BEGAN
We had been volunteering at the Humane Society for some time and it is where we found our Maggie. Doug and I had lost our dear Sandy (chocolate lab) and needed our puppy fix without adopting again. We never wanted to feel the pain of loss again but found it a huge challenge to fall in love with so many dogs. We resisted it for almost a year but that ended the day Maggie was brought in. This book was born out of necessity to help our new puppy and to reach out to others. The need for support is so great at the rescue centers and we needed to find some way to help. With our book, we can offer donations to help support the animals there in many ways. The population of animals at the centers is a grim result of abuse and abandonment, much as Maggie was.
Luckily for our lives we have always had dogs as part of our family and in their names and Maggie’s we wanted to get this book done.
Along the way, we met so many wonderful authors we bonded with but two of them who became our friends had the same heartfelt desire to help animals. It was with this desire to share that another bond formed and we invited these two extraordinary authors, our friends to be part of Maggie’s Kitchen Tails and to co-author it with us, providing their own brand of writing short stories and recipes concerning the special pets in their lives.
Now the circle is complete. Little Maggie has two Aunts that love her and who are exceptional writers -So how can we lose? We would like to take time now to thank them both for being part of this book and sharing all the aspects involved. Linda Victoria Hales and Martha Char Love are our dear friends that love life and the creatures in it which of course include the dogs which we invite our readers to come meet. Our book will feature other rescued dogs and we are actively looking for stories and photos of other rescued dogs to include in our book. We plan to use Maggie’s Kitchen Tails to aid humane and rescue societies in a special way. Do you know of a group that needs to do a fund raiser and wants to help others? Here we are.
Yes, we made the right choice for our gift this year and knew if we only could survive the childhood of this puppy, some day we would be a strong family that enjoyed much more than the boredom of retirement!!
Here is one of my favorite photos. Many days I would walk out on the front porch and find Doug and Maggie leaning over together and watch as they spit over the rail! You can’t get much more human than that!
NEVER GIVE UP is our motto and we have now made it. Maggie is now healthy and free from most of her fears. Our happy family is here to help yours!
Thank you for joining us today. Please follow and leave your comments. Our book will launch October 31, 2015 which is Maggie’s birthday. Feel free to contact us and reserve your signed copy now.
MAGGIE JEAN ADKINS
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| Douglas Adkins |
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| Rosemary "MAMIE" Adkins |
MAGGIE’S KITCHEN TAILS
Dog Treat Recipes
and
Puppy Tales to Love
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