Hi! My name is Anne Clarkson and I am the owner of Awesome Raw Foods Pet Food Delivery service.
My switch to raw feeding did not happen overnight. Indeed it was more like a little lightbulb in the back of my mind that got brighter and brighter as time went on and I accumulated more and more information and experience. Although I had grown up with dogs, I got my own first dog in 1976. His name was Misha and he was a husky mix who came from the kennel of a longtime dogsledding enthusiast. That was my introduction to a group of dog owners whose dogs were all consumate athletes (sled dogs) and who fed their dogs the way Arctic working dogs had been fed for generations. These folks did not believe that manufactured dog food did or even could contain the same nutritional value as "real" food.  It was the first time I'd heard someone say they routinely fed their dogs fresh, whole, raw chickens. When I responded with the typical panic about bones and raw meat and bacteria (oh my!), they patiently asked when was the last time I'd heard of a wolf carefully removing the bones from a recent kill before placing it on the fire, and then washing her paws to get rid of the germs! The argument made sense to me, but I was still a kid living at home with my parents. I didn't think throwing raw chickens to my dog would go over too well, and I still believed that the "experts" (vets and dog food companies) knew best. I didn't feed Misha raw food. He had an ongoing problem with diarrhea, bloody stools, and ill health. He died of cancer at the tender age of 4. Shortly before Misha died, I met my future husband, Chris, and his very sweet new lab mix puppy, Shauna. A few months later, I got the dog of my heart, Kia, a malamute mix. Proud, beautiful, self-assured. Kia was an alpha female who needed only to be reassured that Chris and I were her pack leaders.  Shauna and Kia's diet consisted of varying brands of kibble, assorted leftovers, and raw marrow bones from the grocery store. Both dogs lived to the ripe old age of 15. However, Shauna was on a strict weight-control diet most of her life. She was prone to ear infections, and in her later years, she had bladder control problems, seizures, and problems with mobility. Kia, on the other hand, was diagnosed with anorexia when she was about 6 months old. She would not eat. The vet said that she most likely wanted (needed) to be hunting her dinner, not picking it out of a bowl. We tried her briefly on raw beef, but it didn't agree with her and she would not eat it.  The vet put her on birth control pills to spark her appetite. It worked! Over the next 3 years or so, we weaned her down from an initial dose of two pills per day to 1/4 pill every other day, and eventually got her off of it altogether. However, we did have to "dress up" her kibble with canned cat food, leftovers, and whipped cream (her own little fetish, I think). When she died, she went in for surgery for a ruptured spleen, which the vet took care of, but as he looked around, he realized her entire abdomen was filled with tumors, any of which could rupture at any time. The decision was made not to bring her out of surgery. After Shauna and Kia came the next (current) pack of dogs, plus the addition of three cats. Molly is a shepherd mix, Kiche, a Norwegian elkhound mix, Jasmine and Pogo, Italian Greyhounds, and Toba, a husky mix. Oscar, Casper and Amanda are the stray cats that chose to live with us. Kiche came to me from an old-time breeder near the Canadian border. Within days of her arrival, she developed chronic diarrhea that I could not get rid of. I called the breeder to ask what kind of food he'd been feeding her and he said that everyone around there hunts and his dogs all eat venison -- whatever the hunters don't want or can't use.  It was late spring in New York State, about equidistant from last year's and next year's hunting season. No venison to be found. In desperation, I tried every dog food on the market, but nothing helped. Then I found a brand new food made by Nature's Recipe that had venison as the main ingredient. Hooray! It stopped the problem! Kiche still had voluminous, soft stools, but at least now I could get her housebroken. During this chapter of my life, I also had about 5 years of experience with retail sales of puppies and kittens. I saw first-hand the immense effect nutrition has on every aspect of the growth and development of our pets. I also had first-hand experience arguing with the scientists at major dog food companies who adamantly denied that their foods could have anything to do with the myriad health problems we were seeing. Yet, amazingly enough, when we switched to better quality foods with healthier ingredients, the problems disappeared, never to return!  Remember that little lightbulb in the back of my mind? Well, it was around this time that it started burning brighter and brighter until I could no longer ignore it. Through my experiences and contacts at the store and my own personal experiences with my pets, I finally realized that a natural, raw diet made absolute perfect sense. Diet affected everything, and the wrong diet could have devestatng effects. And, most importantly, it became clear that the pet food companies had it wrong. I started doing a lot of research on-line and in books as well as through conversations with people who were already feeding raw diets. I also fell back on the information I had heard over the years from the mushers. At that point, it was a quick, "overnight" decision that when the 40 lb of venision kibble I had was gone, the dogs were switching to raw. At the time, I had Molly, Kiche, Pogo (who was a brand new 3-month-old puppy), and Simon, a temporary foster Siberian Husky rescued because his owner could not deal with the chronic diarrhea that the vets could not cure. (By this time, it was obvious to me that the Nordic breeds -- those most like wolves -- had a serious predisposition to digestive problems and I was pretty sure I was onto something in thinking a raw diet would help.) I started very simply (and with a great deal of apprehension). I went to the local wholesale club and bought a monster package of big, meaty chicken wings, a huge bucket of plain yogurt, a three-pack of canned pumpkin (which I already knew from experience was excellent for calming digestive problems), and a case of 5 dozen eggs. For their very first raw meal, each of the big dogs got 3 wings, an egg (whole, in the shell which was cracked), a large spoonful of yogurt and a large spoonful of pumpkin. Pogo got one wing and smaller amounts of yogurt and pumpkin. His egg was served with "shell on the side." All sniffed a little and looked at me questioningly. I thought at first that it was hesitation, but then decided it was more like "This is really for ME ?!" (Even my newest rescue, Jasmine, who was almost 6 when I got her, only hesitated a moment to watch Pogo before she figured it out.) 
It was quite disconcerting to hear the crunch, crunch, crunch of chicken bones for the first time! Especially coming from the little Italian Greyhound puppy! But they all finished and smiled and licked their chops and looked for more and looked at me with such delight on their faces, I was thrilled beyond words! Of course, since that first meal, they have broadened their horizons to include lamb, goat, turkey, beef, mackeral, smelt, venison, rabbit, pork -- pretty much anything I can find for them. They all have their likes and dislikes and some foods just don't agree with some animals, but they are all quite happy to try new things. The first really obvious change was in Simon. He had essentially been fasted for a day before the new diet because he had been neutered at the shelter before I picked him up. However, he went from horrible, explosive diarrhea that first day to pooping firm little nuggets after just one raw meal! The problem he'd had his whole life, the problem that landed him in a shelter, was eliminated with one meal! That was my first time seeing such a miracle, but I've seen it happen many times since then. Although Kiche's venison kibble had helped her quite a bit, it paled in comparison to the immediate improvement made by the switch to raw. 
When Toba arrived a year or so later, she too had been abandoned by owners who could not deal with chronic diarrhea, and just like Simon and Kiche, she was "cured" in one day.
Over time, I've noticed more subtle improvements in both the dogs and the cats. For instance, Molly's never-ending ear infections disappeared. All of the animals developed softer, shinier coats and sparkling white teeth. All of them seem to have more "chiseled" bodies, too. By comparison, they looked more "doughy" before. Molly's mobility and energy have increased dramatically. She'd had surgery on both knees to repair torn ACL's. Although the surgery brought her back from total lameness, she had become lethargic and less mobile as time passed following the surgery. The new diet changed her from lean but soft to lean with muscles, it boosted her energy and gave her much more freedom of movement in all of her joints. 
Similarly, Oscar, the oldest cat has had a serious heart murmur his whole life. When he started to slow down a few years ago, I attributed it to an ailing heart. However, once he got on a raw diet, his coat improved, his energy improved, and his whole outlook on life seemed to improve. He now does burn runs around the house just like he did when he was a kitten!
So that's where my interest in raw diets comes from! I have seen the impact a Biologically Appropriate Raw Food diet can have on a dog or cat. Even though I've had pets who've lived long, healthy lives with a diet based on kibble (keep in mind, however that even then, I gave them lots of "extras"), I will always wonder if the lives of all of my pets could have been improved if I'd known then what I know now. 
I don't believe there is any one correct way to feed our pets. I do believe that variety is essential for healthy bodies and minds. I know that there are as many ways to feed a raw diet as there are people with pets! The secret is to do your homework. Read, talk to people, read some more and try out different ideas with your own pets. You will find what works for you. A raw diet may not be a cure-all, but I've seen some pretty amazing improvements from it! And I am convinced that it will allow your pet to live to its highest potential, leading the best, healthiest life possible within the limits set by genetics and environment. Any diet that trades in useless grains, fillers, and inferior ingredients for fresh, raw, whole, natural foods is an improvement! Go Against The Grain! Feed Raw Food! |
|