The Kenny Cocktail with Black Tea and Pomegranate Juice
Three weeks ago we adopted Kenny. He is 12 pounds of snuggles and teeth. We adopted him from a small rural shelter in southern Ohio. They clearly are doing their best to get animals adopted, but he had a few medical issues that we were unaware of when we brought him home. First, he had been recently neutered and was not given antibiotics and also had free rein to lick himself. His incisions became infected and he was obsessively licking. I went to the pet store and bought a cone for him and that seemed to help with the licking, but he quickly figured out how to contort his body to have access to the incisions. By Tuesday of the week we adopted him, he also had kennel cough. He was at the vet several times after that and put on antibiotics, anti nausea medicine, NSAD’s and a codeine cough syrup.
I mention all of this because the discomfort he was in did not make the transition easy from the shelter to our home. In a previous post I said that he was nipping at us. There were times, when I though that his nipping was our fault, because he was in pain and we were trying to prevent him from getting to his incisions. I accidentally pushed on his incision with a toy to block his access and he bit me. We immediately consulted with a trainer and had an in-home session last week. We were advised to get a Sentry Calming Collar and to use a water bottle to stop some of the unwanted behavior. The work that we have been putting in has helped, but on Tuesday of this week, I got bit again and this time Kenny drew blood. We were trying to get him off of the downstairs bed and up to our bedroom on the second floor. He wouldn’t leave the bed and I gently reached down to pick him up and he bit my pinky finger.
I am totally in love with this little guy. He is learning new things everyday. We have been consistent and vigilant about not allowing him to put any skin in his mouth. I have never had a dog that has this level of fear based aggression and so at times my feelings get hurt. I want to teach him that he is loved and we would never hurt him.
We are having family stop by to work on his door manners and to help him get use to new people. Last weekend he was a party pooper and barked at everyone that came over for the Mother’s Day brunch. He is also afraid of our trainer, which made the session interesting.
Readers: I am interested to hear from you about what have you done to help your rescue transition into your home? Our trainer suggested switching his food to a grain free formula, have you had any luck with this? I am all ears, because I want Kenny to be happy and I also don’t want to get bit again!
This week I made the Kenny Cocktail! It is sweet from the pomegranate juice, fizzy from the sparkling water, has a kick of caffeine from the tea and boozy from the vodka! This is a refreshing cocktail to serve to your guest at your Memorial Day get-together. The amount of alcohol can be adjusted to your liking. You could even make this into a mocktail and omit the vodka!
Add blueberries, pomegranate seed and an edible flower to garnish! The Kenny cocktail will be a beautiful addition to your summer parties.
The Kenny Cocktail with Black Tea and Pomegranate Juice
Author: Jodi Boatman Prep Time: 10 Minutes Cook time: 0 Minutes
Total Time: 10 Minutes Yields: 26 Servings
Ingredients:
2 C brewed black tea
16 oz bottle of pomegranate juice
72 oz sparkling water
8 oz pomegranate seeds
2 C blueberries
26 oz vodka
mint for garnish
edible flowers
Instructions:
Brew tea to the strength you desire and chill. I like mine strong.
Add tea, sparkling water, pomegranate juice, 1 1/2 cups of blueberries, all but a handful of pomegranate seed and vodka to a larger punch bowl with ice.
Create skewer garnishes by stacking pomegranate seed, mint and blueberries and add to glasses.
Pour punch into glasses with skewers and ice and serve.
You can adjust the amount of vodka to your liking or omit it completely for a mocktail.
