David Attenborough has opened our eyes to the emergency climate crisis that we face today where we have to act now.
We tend to expect our leaders to guide us, but Greta Thunberg has proved that they are not helping, and each one of us, no matter how small has to make that difference in our lives if we are to give our children the future they need filled with nature and hope.
I am a UK vet, Mum of 4 children and a dog lover and in my own small way, I want to make a difference with my everyday choices and hope that by proving how easy these choices are, that others can follow safely.
The article shown above published on the 8th October 2020, is proof that through responsible pet ownership, we can make a difference. By choosing to own a dog, we sadly add to the carbon footprint and climate decline in more ways than we can imagine. As a vet and dog owner, these aspects fill me with enormous guilt as we have all done it and 99% of us continue to do these things, but we CAN and we MUST change –
We’ve all bought accessories for our dogs – toys, leads, coats, beds. We need to just stop buying all these planet destroying ‘goods’ that only make us feel better and far rather concentrate on what makes our own mental well being and our dog’s mental well-being better – long walks in the fresh air! For our indoor pets, we advise enrichment blankets such as one that Barney’s Mum made that we use everyday for our little Ruff – his ‘magic blanket’ as we call it!
For years and years as a GP vet, I have dispensed and recommended flea drops and various flea treatments as they become available without a thought to the natural world and how devastating it is to our insects, especially bees. Rosemary Perkins has written such a comprehensive and needed article highlighting the need for us to change as vets and pet owners. Fipronil is the active ingredient in Frontline (which is used without a thought and advertised blatantly on our TV screens); and Imidacloprid is the active ingredient in spot-ons such as Advocate and Bob Martin flea drops and it is so damaging to our natural environment.
I advise owners now to NOT use flea drops and definitely not use flea collars, but rather use the oral tablets that are available and once your dog has been treated monthly, clear and throw away their faeces for 2 days after treatment to protect our insect population.
Area twice the size of UK needed to feed world’s pets highlights the devastation of our pets being fed ‘raw’ or ‘human-grade’ dog foods such as made by companies that buy the cuts of meat that we would eat, rather than the byproducts used from abattoirs. The carbon footprint of a very small dog eating this diet is equivalent to driving a family car! There is no such thing as ‘sustainable fishing’ and feeding fish is not a natural food for dogs or cats. We need to protect our fragile oceans, so stop buying any fish pet food products for this reason.
I turned myself vegan at the age of 53 last year, having not even been vegetarian prior to this, simply because I was determined to find the perfect plant-based diet for our little family dog Ruff. My journey has been fascinating and took me to Germany to work with the top veterinary nutritionists there and the best part of all of it is that Ruff absolutely loves his 100% balanced plant-based diet. He loves the dry food, he loves the treats and he loves the homemade food that we make him (with added supplements).
I am SO passionate about sharing all of this with you so that you can stop feeling the guilt that I feel as a vet and a dog owner and enjoy your sustainable companions. They enrich our lives immeasurably and I personally could not imagine a world without dogs.
Just try the 3 steps that I have highlighted above – it is actually very easy!

Rupert had crystals from eating Benevo
Rupert suffered from an extremely painful urinary tract infection and blood in his urine which ultimately led to him needing surgery
New Year’s Intentions
We have chosen to share dear little Simba’s weight loss story and the advice given as it may echo your own experience
Vet Reflections Of 2020
They say that to be truly happy, you need to have gratitude and I have to end the year with thanks to these wonderful people (and dogs)
FREE TUB OF SUPPLEMENT for your help
If you have safely transitioned your dog from raw to a plant-based diet, please fill out our form to receive some FREE supplement and treats as a thank you!
Wispa’s guilty pleasures
We live in a zero carbon house. Wispa seriously offsets our carbon savings!
Can I Afford A Vegan Diet?
We are so passionate about plant-based feeding in dogs, that we want to support you and hopefully make it affordable for you
Wonderful David Attenborough
When our future seems so precarious, we finally have hope for our fragile natural world with the very wise and passionate words of Sir David Attenborough
The kindest pet owner you can be
At this stressful time, our vet offers advice on being the kindest pet owner to your sensitive dog
Never use the word VEGAN!
Only by convincing vets that it is the way forward, will we together have any success as plant-based feeders of ensuring that it becomes a very viable and superior option to feeding our dogs
*The Top 10 Zoonoses In Your Home*
There are cases of dry food or treats (especially the raw hide treats and chews) causing transmission of diseases to people
Evidence Based Medicine
The meat-based fed control group showed 11 deficiencies while the long-term vegan fed category presented only two deficiencies
The Vit D3 and Vegan Dog Food Debate
Can vegan dog foods be classed as vegan in the UK with Vit D3 from lichen?