Why I needed a dog.

"There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face."
- Bernard Williams

I am incredibly fortunate to be able to say that I am 24 years old, and I have never experienced the loss of a close family member.  But it's possible that I might not be able to say that for much longer, and it's breaking my heart.  Yesterday was extremely rough for me, as my Papaw is not doing well.  I tried to keep my mind off things while I worked, but at one point I simply had to take a break, so I came home to let Mona out.  I sat down on the couch and, unable to hold it in any longer, burst into tears.  Mona came to sit quietly next to me, and she gently licked all the tears from my cheeks as I cried.  And I felt better.

This is something that I have never been able to fully articulate, but there is something magically therapeutic about a dog.  Bernard Williams must know what I'm talking about.  Dogs are great, and they offer something that you simply cannot get anywhere else (even from my amazing husband, whose patience and understanding I could not live without).  Personally, I'd like to see doctors prescribe pets the way they prescribe antidepressants.  Their companionship is like some kind of healing power.  And that incredible, unconditional love I get from Mona is part of what drives this raw adventure.  For all the companionship she gives me, I want to be sure I'm giving her the best I can as well.

Educate yourself.

I really don't intend to do much in the way of defending the raw diet to those who don't approve of it.  I've done my research, I really do feel it's the healthiest food for Mona, and it's the right choice for me, period.  But I do feel the need to speak up when someone has no good reason to back their disapproval.  If you're going to tell me you don't agree with something, you better have something to back it up with.

What it all comes down to is DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH.  Do not let any one person make up your mind on anything, particularly when your pet's health is in question.  Even if your vet tells you what to feed, do some research.  I'm finding that very few veterinarians know much in regards to pet nutrition.  I realize there are exceptions to this, but for the most part, vets aren't required to take many--if any--courses on nutrition.  As a result, their main means of "education" comes from the pet food representatives, whose views are biased and whose information is often incomplete or incorrect.  Read the ingredients.  Learn what those ingredients mean, and what their role is in your pet's diet.  Compare labels.  Check it ALL out.  Then and only then can you decide what is truly best for your pet.

Meet Mona.

Mona is our mutt.  She has been a part of our family since we adopted her on August 24th.

We'd been looking for a dog for a while.  I'd visited several shelters numerous times but never found the right dog.  On a whim, I stopped by our local shelter one day before work.  I passed by a cage with a little black dog baring its teeth at me.  I looked at several others, passed by the black dog again, and doubled back.  Was she really baring her teeth at me?  Her tail beating wildly against the sides of the cage.  I'd never seen a dog growl and wag its tail at the same time.  Maybe she wasn't growling.  I asked about her, but the volunteer knew little about her as she'd just come in.  I asked to see her, and she was incredibly sweet and friendly.  I went to the shelter office to ask a little more about her, and before I knew it, I was driving home with a smiling dog in my back seat.  Three days later, we signed the official paperwork, and the little shelter dog tagged "Marley" was ours.

She smiles.  I've yet to get it on camera or train her to do it on command, but she scrunches up her little snub nose and smiles.  It makes her look so ridiculous you can't help but laugh.  She LOVES people, and smiles at everyone she meets.  Unfortunately, her smile greatly resembles a sign of aggression, so it's slightly alarming at first if you don't know her.  And since the only famous smile we could think of was Leonardo da Vinci's painting, we named her Mona.

Mona is a hodgepodge mix off who-knows-what.  She runs like a herding dog, swooping out wide, circling back in, and turning on a dime.  Our best guess is a Cavalier / Border collie mix.  I wouldn't be surprised if there was a little bit of gazelle in there too.  She's got the affectionate, outgoing, eager attitude of a Cavalier, with the smarts and stamina of a border collie.  She's mostly a quiet girl in the house, but the second you mention the park, a switch goes off and she becomes a bouncy, energetic nutcase desperate for another dog to chase her.

She's amazing.  She's nothing like what I thought I wanted (I thought I wanted a big dog; she's only 20 pounds).  But she's sweet and smart and everything I needed in a dog.  I want only the best for her.  And I think that best is raw.

Hello, all!

I'm beginning this blog with the intention of closely documenting my adventures in living a raw lifestyle.  I have decided to take the plunge and feed my dog, Mona, a completely raw diet, specifically a whole prey model diet.

I do not hate kibble, nor do I judge those who choose to feed it.  It is all I've ever known, and I actually make a living selling premium dog foods at our local pet store.  I have no complaints about the kibble I've fed.  I've spent the last couple years learning everything I possibly can about commerical dog food, and I feel incredibly confident in my ability to explain the differences between a high-quality food like Evo or Wellness and the crap you get at the grocery store like Ol' Roy.  It has become my passion to educate people about the vast differences in pet foods.  I have converted many unknowing customers from a junky grocery store food to a premium brand, and have enjoyed hearing about the great changes it has made to their pets' health and wellbeing.

I'm finding that a lot of raw feeders are incredibly anti-kibble.  I get the feeling they think all commercial pet foods are bad.  However, I'm pretty passionate about the importance of a high-quality kibble (versus something full of fillers and by-products).  It will be hard, if not impossible, for me to completely abandon my support of kibble.  Perhaps raw feeding really IS that much better, but the fact of the matter is that many people do not care to deal with the "hassles" of raw--locating reliable and affordable meat sources, learning about the proper ratios of meat/bone/organs, storing large quantities of large meat, and dealing with thawing and freezing that meat.  Let's face it, kibble is convenient!  And for those who do not wish to live a raw lifestyle, I will still be able to show them the best kibbles out there.

However, as good as I  feel the best grain-free/holistic/organic/high-meat-content kibble out there might be, I'm thoroughly convinced that raw feeding is even better.  At least for my family.  In particular, I'm anxious to experience the benefits raw feeding will have on Mona's skin, coat, teeth, and energy level.  And of course, the poop.  I've learned raw feeders love to talk about poop.  So, lucky you, you'll get to hear about poop from me too.

And, as my thoughts are typically all over the place, I'm sure some of my blog entries will be too.