How to Feed Raw in an Isolated Setting

Living in such an isolated place, I work hard to provide a raw diet for my seven dogs and litters of puppies.

Locally, I have a friend who runs a catering company and allows me to order large quantities of meats via her restaurant supply accounts. I normally purchase cases of pork ribs, fish fillets and chicken backs via this source.

At our local grocery store, I special order cases of turkey necks and buy family packs of ground beef. I also get fresh yams, fresh greens, plain yogurt and cottage cheese.

When I go to the specialty store in the Lower Mainland, I buy flats of green beef tripe, ground whole duck, ground lamb, lamb hearts, beef heart, lamb necks and lamb bones.

At Walmart when I visit the city, I buy frozen pork bones, cans of sardines, cases of canned vegetables and frozen goat meat.

In hunting season, we receive scraps from friends when they butcher their game. This has included mostly deer and moose.

Where there is a will, there is a way.

Pet Food Recall of 2007

Photo by Rodney Habib

 It's been almost 7 years since the discovery of the intentional contamination of dozens of brands of pet food in North America.  You see, most of the common pet foods are manufactured at centralized plants which blend up the recipes and just put them into different bags, pouches and cans.  Ingredients are the lowest quality, at the lowest price, and sourced from the lowest bidder.  Big Brand pet food has been reduced to a mix of by-products, fillers, artificial flavour and chemical preservatives.  We are merely fortunate that somehow our companion animals can exist on it, as it is not the diet that nature intended for them.

Many of the ingredients in commercially produced dog food are of questionable origin.  There is a requirement from the FDA in the USA for pet food to contain certain amounts of protein, fibre, and crude fat.  Sadly, this equation can be achieved even by mixing leather, wood shavings, and used crank oil.  There is very little thought to the well being of animals, such has the pet food industry been reduced to.  As the rise in toxic, chemical-laden human food occurs, so does the same for our pets. In the case of the Melamine recall, the ingredient which contained this harmful, chemical plastic was the 'vegetable protein' coming from manufacturers in China.  The Chinese companies intentionally added melamine to the rice protein, corn and wheat gluten.  Why?  So that it would contain a higher protein level, satisfying industry standards and import requirements.

We cannot trust the brands advertised during our favourite TV programs to ensure the safety and well-being of our beloved fur family members.  These are giant food conglomerates simply interested in turning a profit.  It really is time to take their nutrition into our own hands.  For more information, check out the following titles, and the documentary link below.

Carina MacDonald- Raw Dog Food- Make it Easy for You and Your Dog

Kymythy Schultz- Natural Nutrition for Dogs and Cats

Tom Lonsdale- Raw Meaty Bones

Ann N. Martin- Food Pets Die For: Shocking Facts About Pet Food

Dr Ian Billinghurst- The BARF Diet (Raw Feeding for Dogs and Cats Using Evolutionary Principles)

CBC

Doczone's Documentary A Dog's Breakfast

The Story of Splash, aka Grannydog aka Fatty Magee

In the fall of 2004, my mother lost her battle with cancer at the age of 58. By the spring of 2005, I w̶̶a̶̶n̶̶t̶̶e̶̶d̶ needed a dog. My grief was still upon me like a dense fog and it was the only thing I could think of to replace the unconditional love I always felt from my mom. Not having any experience with dogs, I opted for an older one needing a home. One thing I knew was that it had to be a Toller. Luckily Lisa Porter from Tollwest was considering a retirement home for her 6 year old breeding dog, Splash. I met her and fell in love with my little redhead that day. She was so happy and energetic and cute! And small, too. Splash is barely 16" at the shoulder and when in good condition, weighs around 30 lbs. I waited a week to actually move her in, but that was one of the longest weeks of my life.

Splash has been an amazing teacher. She is quirky and neurotic, fast and funny and adorable. At 6, she started retrieving for the first time in her life, but only in water, only if it's within 30 feet and has particular toys she prefers to bring back to me. At 8, she underwent a double mastectomy and quadruple lumpectomy during her spay surgery. We are happy to report she has been cancer-free ever since. At 12, she won a huge ribbon in a Rally-O trial, a sport we had just taken up. At 13, she lost her hearing and had two large molars removed due to breakage and infection. Two months ago we celebrated her 15th birthday with a party and a cake just for her. Two weeks ago, she fell down the stairs and cried and screamed in my arms for a full minute. Her shoulders and front legs are starting to bother her and she's been stumbling a little on stairs since. Flat surfaces though, she's gone like a rabbit! I often used to tell people we had an agreement that she would stick with me until she was 20. I still hope this is true.

This picture of her is one of my favourites. I love the light in her eyes and her old lady hair.