Dinner PAWsible A COOKBOOK OF NUTRITIOUS, HOMEMADE MEALS for Cats and Dogs

The first time I checked out this COOKBOOK of nutritious, homemade meals for cats and dogs—I admit it—I was impressed. Not only was I drawn to the various benefits this book offers, but when I tried some of the recipes on the dogs, the joy they shared proved more than I can express! I have to thank my sister Pat for her amazing ability to find such useful and entertaining books such as this one.

This book offers more than recipes. Cathy Alinovi, DVM and Susan Thixton, the PAWsible authors, know that acquiring enough time to cook for ourselves can be challenging. So, they offer advice on mass food production so that you are not always slaving over the hot stove for your pet’s dinners. There is a section about foods that will help your dog or cat with ailments. Each recipe is equipped with serving sizes for let’s say a 10-pound cat or a 30-pound dog. Supplements are addressed and special hints are located at the bottom of each recipe.

Our dog, Cricket, is an amazing addition to our family. Yes, I can even say that after I arrived home today to find my tissue box torn apart all over the living room floor! (I suppose he was bored!) Anyway, Cricket has a sensitive stomach with any changes in kibble. As I eased him into cooked meat and vegetables his movements became normal and problems disappeared. I also have discovered that when I feed him freshly cooked vegies and meat that he does need to be let outside more frequently. The extra moisture in his food has been a challenge on the days that I work full time hours.

With our previous dog, Porschea, I hadn’t tired the real meat diet until her end of life. She loved the chicken and adored me all the more for that change of diet. Also, Porschea had a chronic problem with crystals in her urine. She had been prescribed many different antibiotics to help her with her many bladder infections through the years. Once I started feeding her chicken and lessoned the kibble the crystals disappeared from her urine samples completely! It is my opinion that she would have lived longer and healthier had I fed her fresh meat and vegetables. I know for a fact that she was happier with the real food instead of kibble!

I recently was sick with the flu and I had to resort to can dog food and some kibble with some cooked vegies and noodles or rice for Cricket. But, if I’d followed the recipe book I could have had a stash of casseroles premade for any interruptions and life emergencies. 😊

I appreciate the information that holistic veterinarian, Dr. Cathy Alinovi and Susan Thixton, also know as the “Caped Crusader for Safe Pet Food” share in this book. I have an eye for keeping our pets healthier and happier and these two ladies have researched and compiled their wonderful information for such a time like this! This is a highly recommended book in my opinion! Let me know what you think too!

I never tire of Regina’s historical adventures!  This is book 4 in a wonderful London, England Regency series. Lydia Villers is strong and admirable, but feeling a tad unsettled over this new position with someone who has spurned her previously. I must admit that I didn’t know what to think of Lydia in book 3. I even disliked her at times! In book 4, I found Meredith Thorn and Fortune the cat at their best when introducing Lydia to Frederick, Viscount Worthington. When a lady loves science she will even put up with the discomfort of a past acquaintance who would otherwise have caused her to—run. An imperfect but excellent choice of a hero keeps the tension and questions coming. There is a pleasing thread of mystery throughout this 1812 tale.

Who doesn’t love a mystery? I know that I do!

Regina kept my attention through the entire story and I felt fully entertained and engaged in both the plot and the characters. I love that NEVER VIE FOR A VISCOUNT is set in this wonderful time period. This novel made me smile! Well done, Regina. Also, Regina’s beautiful website http://www.reginascott.com/ includes announcements and her blog page includes interesting tidbits of historical facts.

I did receive this novel for free and I’m thrilled and excited to share this honest and informative review. I love clean, historical fiction with engaging characters who are caught in the whirlwind of difficulties and challenges.

Questions for Regina:

How did you come up with the room spaces used for the scientific experiments?

For Lydia to be able to get easily back and forth to her new position, I knew Worth’s laboratory needed to be located near Miss Thorn’s home on Clarendon Square, which is mostly populated by townhouses. Like most condominiums today, they were narrow and had relatively few rooms. So, I had Worth purchase the adjoining townhouse to his as his base of operations. Using an architectural plan of one such house from the Regency period, I mapped out which rooms might serve for what purpose. For example, Worth’s experiments require access to heat and water, so I gave him the kitchen of the second house. One of his colleagues, Miss Pankhurst, needs more space to store and spread out the textiles she is researching, so I allotted her the old dining room with it built-in cabinets. I also had Worth remove most of the things that might burn—like padded furniture, draperies, and doilies—from all his research rooms to prevent a fire should an experiment go awry. 

If you were to rewrite a character in this story, who would it be and what would you add or take away?

I might rewrite John Curtis, Worth’s rival natural philosopher, to give him a bit more of a backstory    

Or maybe I’ll save that for another book.  

What was the most fun historical aspect to study in this novel?

The ballooning! It is always surprising to me to learn what was available during the Regency period, and what wasn’t. Now we take sandbags and pull cords for granted in a hot air balloon, but those were just starting to be tested in Worth and Lydia’s time. They couldn’t isolate oxygen easily, and helium had yet to be discovered as an element, so their choices for lifting gasses were pretty small. The French had experimented with hydrogen, with sometimes disastrous results!

What would you like to share about your adventures writing this novel or the history you discovered in your research?

Napoleon wanted to conquer England so badly, but England’s might at sea kept him from crossing the Channel easily. So, he started his own air force—of balloons—and the head of it was a woman! Alas, Madame Sophie Blanchard was killed when her balloon caught fire and crashed, before she could make plans for invading England from the air.

What is the take-away that you would love your readers to benefit from reading this story?

Don’t let anyone tell you who you are. God gave you talents, dreams. Embrace them, and benefit the world. That’s what Lydia learns to do.

Will there be a book 5?

Yes, there will! Never Kneel to Knight, featuring Worth’s sister Charlotte, releases in mid-March.  When the thoroughly poised Charlotte Worthington requests that Miss Thorn and her cat Fortune find her a position, she never dreamed the savvy employment agency owner would reunite her with Matthew Bateman, her brother's former bodyguard. Matthew is about to be knighted for an act of valor, and he and his sisters could use some polishing if they're to enter Society after his elevation. Yet how can Charlotte maintain her calm, cool demeanor as their sponsor when she harbors a secret love for him? Matthew Bateman cannot forget the beauty who is miles out of his league. Once a boxer called the Beast of Birmingham, Matthew would like nothing better than to be worthy of Charlotte's hand. As old enemies and new ones attempt to bring him low, can Matthew prove to Charlotte that their love is meant to be?

How do you want your readers to contact you?

Readers can reach me via my website at www.reginascott.com, on my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/authorreginascott, on Pinterest at www.pinterest.com/reginascottpins, at the blog I share with young adult author Marissa Doyle at www.nineteenteen.com, or on Goodreads at www.goodreads.com/reginascott. If you want to know when the next book is out or on sale, please sign up for a free e-mail alert at http://eepurl.com/baqwVT