“The trick of life is to have the courage to walk down the path that’s lit up in your heart”
– Atticus
None of us dreamt of a year that we have all just had. As a GP vet with 25 years experience, I never dreamt that I would be at this point in my career and life following a passion that 2 years ago never even entered my world. Plant-based feeding of both myself, my children and Ruff our family dog has become my passion. We are not perfect. My husband and 1 son remain eating meat and I still have to cook it, but the appreciation I have for the knowledge I have acquired this year about plant-based feeding in dogs is the highlight of my career.
All I now want to do is promote it and help as many owners as possible to transition their dogs to plant-based. I have proof through the countless wonderful owners who have touched my heart this year with photos, information and feedback about their dogs with how healthy and happy they are on their sustainable and very kind diet.
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) who have made such an enormous difference to my year and my outlook and hope for the year ahead.
Our little Ruff has to come first as my biggest motivating factor in all of this. Just like all of you, he remains the reason for us as a family to still carry on as such a close knit and happy family unit.
He has kept us all grounded, loved and happy. His simple acceptance of each family member coming and going and changes in all our work patterns, has kept us all calm and content.
He is a little rescue with not a nasty bone in his body and we just adore him…..just as you all love your own dogs!
As a family, we have struggled with the ups and downs of this year, but have come out stronger and better for it. Exams were cancelled, my son working as a carer at our local carehome suddenly became a ‘keyworker hero’; and I gained so much valuable inspiration from my vegan pharmacist son and teenage daughter who turned vegan this year. They were such a huge help when I had to confine for 2 weeks after working with a Covid +ve vet, keeping orders going out and helping with packing and producing. As a small family business, I feel so fortunate to be ending the year filled with such hope for our second year!
I feel such gratitude for 2 important women who have been my inspiration and support this year. The first is friend and business mentor Clare Knottenbelt. She has patiently taken me from very hesitant business starter, to truly believing in myself and my passion and taking it forward to start up my Just be Kind business.
Her own experience as a vet, mother, dog lover and business owner have been so beneficial to me and made me realise through her gentle patience and kind words, that we are all in the same boat and we all hold the same fears and concerns for our future, for our families and for our pets.
I still feel humbled and so enormously thankful for having made contact with the wonderful vet nutritionist Lisa Walther. When I came across a dead end in the UK with the top vet nutritionists here referring me to the US, I realised that the only way forward, was to look closer to home to find the perfect plant-based diet for dogs in Germany. They are so far advanced with the feeding of their pets, and everything is done with such accuracy.
Dr Lisa helped develop the VegDog supplement and I love working with her on the recipes that I have formulated for you the UK dog owner using ingredients we find here. Her e-mails to me are in broken english and all the recipes are sent in german, and I love the fact that I have even learnt a new language this year with all the translating I’ve been doing (well almost:)
“The biggest thanks I have is to all you wonderful dog owners whose kind words and details about your dogs have inspired me, made me cry and laugh at the same time and made me realise more than anything that plant-based feeding of dogs is the kindest and most sustainable way forward”
– Dr Arielle Griffiths MRCVS
Highs and lows of a scorching July
I have personally found this month both extremely challenging and overwhelmingly rewarding as JUST BE KIND is able to expand
Pets At Home sell plant-based dog food!
Wainwrights is Pets at Home own brand, and this week they launched a plant-based food throughout all their stores - both tinned and dry food. Read our full review of it here....
Vegan Campout
We were lucky enough to attend Vegan campout this year along with thousands of like-minded people
What about DCM with vegan dog food?
The Vet Times published these very important findings on the front page of the July issue of the Vet Times magazine
“I feel I’ve got it so wrong for so long”
“He chose to keep walking today after just a week on his vegan diet – We were amazed, and very happy!”
Be part of our vegan dog food education journey
Help us to educate the public about plant-based feeding in dogs and you’ll get a FREE thank you goodie bag for your dog!
Has Brexit caused an increase in vegan dogs?
Read article published in May issue of Vet Record about the new EU regulations and taking dog food to the EU
Treat your dog in the heat
We offer top tips to keep your vegan dog healthy and happy in the summer heat
Your Dog Will LIVE LONGER
What a week! New published papers show that your dog WILL live longer AND it is broadcast on TV that vegan dog poo has no smell!!
Otto wins 2nd place for ‘In Best Condition’!
Everyone was commenting on how healthy and happy he looks and how shiny his coat is
Veganism and kindness are so inextricably linked
Arielle Griffiths talks at Vegan Life Live Event at Alexandra Palace in London
Vet’s Dachshund just LOVES Solo Vegetal!
All my fears and anxieties of having a stand at VetFest were unnecessary as Solo Vegetal stole the show
