Back in 2002 our beloved Golden Retriever, Irie, passed away. She had been diagnosed in January with lymphnoma, a type of cancer, and she suffered with breathing problems. We had to have her put to sleep in March, one week after her 10th birthday. She was the mother of Sippi and Jules, our other Golden Retrievers.

Being a family that eats only organic food, my first thought was that it was the food she was eating that killed Irie prematurely (she ate kibble). One day I was reading the local magazine, The Source, and I saw an ad for Totally Raw dog food. I went on the website and read about their German Shepherd, Daisy, who had been diagnosed with cancer. I was very interested to learn that upon switching to raw dog food, she was still going strong, many years later. It certainly made sense to me to feed dogs totally raw since that was what they were intended to eat.

I immediately contacted Karen and Doug at Totally Raw and started feeding Jules, then seven, and Pearl, our German Sheppard puppy, totally raw dog food. Karen and Doug have always been available to answer any questions or concerns I have. They deliver a month’s worth of packaged food to our home and we put it in our freezer and take out one bag to thaw every day. (We get chicken, beef, lamb, organ meat, tripe and vegetables). We only need to cut the bag open, throw it on the lawn and they each get a share. The bags are tailored to suit their dietary needs according to age and ideal weight.

The benefits of feeding our dogs totally raw dog food for the past four years have been enormous. First and foremost, Jules (12 yrs) and Pearl (4 yrs) are the perfect weight and don’t suffer the numerous problems that so many dogs have. We don’t give our dogs any kibble or human food (with the exception of some organic vegetable left-overs). The bones keep their teeth shiny and white which makes dental care unnecessary. Their coats are shiny and they never need a bath. A previous problem our dogs suffered from was very bad breath; we don’t have that problem anymore! Pearl and Jules are extremely well behaved, smart and spry. Another problem any dog owner knows only too well is the amount of dog feces that can accumulate in your yard. Well…let me tell you, if your dog eliminates on your lawn and you don’t get to it for a week, it turns white, crumbles and disappears! No joke! The natural diet is to thank for that. On that note, I will sign off and say we are most grateful to have found Karen and Doug and we wouldn’t think of going back to kibble ever again.

Christina M
Wellington, Nova Scotia