Gracie’s Treats

04/22/2025

None of us need traumatic surgery photos right now, but Gracie has successfully made it through her big surgery!

They removed four of her ribs to get the fist-sized cartilage tumor out. It was mostly pressing on her internal organs, especially the liver. The surgeon (Dr. Lee, who I would trust over and over again) was able to remove the cancer margins and close her chest wall using her diaphragm. A lot went right for our girl.

She’s had a night of sleep behind her, ate a little food this morning and is already mobile (though activity restricted).

She’s a brave and strong pup! 😭

She’s still not super into large bodies of water… queue the face she made (above) when riding the ferry to Ocracoke. We’re all wimps about something! 🤣🐶

04/17/2025

Gracie and her other hooman took a camping trip to Ocracoke and the treat making hooman (me) is having serious FOMO… but I’m glad they’re getting special time, and boy does she love the beach!

I’ll post a more detailed update soon, but Gracie is due for a big surgery on Monday. The cancer is finally coming out!

We’re scared, and we’ve debated all of the options. Removing everything felt like her best shot, but there are never guarantees. Until then, she’s obviously going to do all the most fun stuff ever!

Think healing thoughts, friends!

04/16/2025

Don’t miss a busy market over at The Plant in Pittsboro! We’ll be there with treats for the pups!

Indulge in the tantalizing flavors of the Mediterranean with "Carthage Fresh "! We craft exquisite dips and spreads using the freshest ingredients and authentic recipes. From creamy hummus to zesty tzatziki, or our crispy baked pita chips, our products transport you to the sun-kissed shores. Vegetar...

04/16/2025

Next market: Pittsboro Farmers Market, Thursday 4/17 from 3-6 p.m.

Our seasonal flavors won’t be here forever! Why not let your pup have a try?



Our online store is always open. Snag a sampler pack of these outgoing flavors before they’re gone!
www.gracies-treats.com/shop

04/13/2025

The irony of naming your treat company after your dog, because the recipes come from her actual treats, then needing to set aside inventory so Gracie gets her treats.

She does find the bag very exciting! I got to experience what you all do when you buy your pups one of our bags. 🤣🐶

03/28/2025

“OK Grace, I gotta go to work…” Totally unrelated, but any benefactors who would like to invest in me petting my dog all day, DM please!

03/27/2025

Gracie looks fantastic (I need a shower) but the love looks good on both of us! 🥰🐶

03/20/2025

Oh Nala, you’re a good girl indeed! 😍🐾🐽🐮

Thanks for sharing your sweet pup enjoying our crunchy and rich tasting organ treats, !

I’ve seen dogs do pretty wild things for these treats (not Nala, she’s so polite). One dog actually dropped a treat on the floor and rolled their face in it. 🤣

What makes these so special? They’re made with SUPER high quality organ meats from pasture raised animals, all North Carolina local small-scale meat producers. Pasture raising gives the meat a gamier flavor and smell, and trust me dogs are very into it.

And yes, friends, I visit every partner farm. These animals are happy and healthy. 😉

We do a quick bake on each treat, so they are fully cooked and safe to handle before dehydrating down to a crunchy (yet thin and easily breakable) meaty chip that keeps well sealed up tight on the pantry shelf.

Pop over to our online shop and order yours today. 🙂

www.gracies-treats.com/shop

03/15/2025

Adventures of Gracie continue! We fit in a camping trip to see some of my family in Maryland and just make some more doggone memories.

Gracie is doing great, though still has a tender stomach. I’m still making her food (cue the elaborate spreadsheet where I’ve made sure it’s balanced and complete, because I’m increasing extra!). It still makes me so happy seeing her clean the bowl. 😭

Our animals just aren’t with us forever, and this scare made me realize how much more in the moment I want to be with my best friend and, arguably, my child. 😬

Her CT scan for the carriage cancer is on Monday. Think really good thoughts for us! ❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹

03/12/2025

03/10/2025

🚨HAPPY 🐕 🚨 Kevin was recently caught in the act… up on the table licking his new favorite bag of treats! 😍

Grab a sampler bag for your pup in our online shop. 😋

www.gracies-treats.com/shop

03/01/2025

Hi frenz! Gracie posed for a little thank you post to those worried about her surprising health scare.

Okay, she knows 10-years-old isn’t “spring chicken” material, but she gets her hikes in, eats her veggies and overall is a fit older pup. Who knew how hard everything around surgery would be on her gut. Frankly, she’s had a resilient gut for about 5ish years now, after 2-3 years of building it up. When we got her, oh yes, she got diarrhea at the drop of a hat - we got sensitive tummy foods, gave her veggies (I made those pumpkin treats), and actually did probiotics for a couple years. I guess that’s why I’m diet obsessed. 💁🏼

After a couple of days fussing with the restricted diet foods (that she didn’t care for) I finally sat down to formulate a balanced recipe for her. Shocker! She’s gobbling up her turkey, chicken, sardine, egg, sweet potato, spinach, nutritional yeast, millet and oats bites. 🤣

I’m thinking about making a spreadsheet with formulas to help estimate ingredients in balanced dog food… we’ll see! For now I’ll just stand in my kitchen looking up USDA food charts.

02/26/2025

We’re so relieved to have Gracie home, resting, cuddling and EATING. It’s always heart wrenching to watch someone you love go without food, and I’m pretty dog nutrition obsessed, so I was trying everything I could.

So what happened? Good news is, it wasn’t her cartilage cancer which docs are optimistic is actually fairly localized and easily managed.

ANESTHESIA was the triggering agent here. She had a punch biopsy to confirm cancer, and the impact of fasting and full sedation set her tummy for a turn. What we found out is she’s got some irritable bowel disease (IBD) and this all triggered mild pancreatitis which is now resolving.

We always knew whatever happened in her before life gave Gracie a sensitive tummy (or she was just born with it). It makes total sense to us that she’s likely had well-managed IBD over the years. She eats pretty well over here!

She’s still feeling a little nauseous and we need to be mindful of her pancreatitis, so there is a lot of home cooked food in her future. We are focusing on good gelatin rich bone broths to coat her GI tract lining, hopefully promoting healing and bringing down inflammation, and some good low-fat foods to stay easy on her healing pancreas (like defatted peanut flour to help get her pills down ❤️‍🩹).

You better believe we’re going to come out with even more treats our diet-restricted pups will love!

02/24/2025

Update on Gracie’s healing journey!

Poor baby has really been through it the past two weeks, but she finally seems to be getting back to her old self after being admitted to the hospital. She was having a lot of stomach upset after her biopsy and really couldn’t keep much down. After a while, that starts to compromise one’s ability to physically stay hydrated, no matter how much fluid you take in. The folks at in Cary helped get her back on her feet and transferred over to in Raleigh to start her oncology diagnostics early! Our regular vet has been so responsive and helpful as we’ve tried to navigate Gracie’s care.

Sweet baby isn’t out of the woods yet, but she did somehow find a fry on the floor of the vet hospital yesterday (almost got it, too 😅) and all her new friends tell us she’s perfect (we know).

We’re so grateful there is such good care in the triangle, and we’re grateful for financing options! 🤪