“Be brave enough to live the life of your dreams according to your vision and purpose, instead of the expectations and opinions of others.”
– Roy Bennet
When I set out on my journey of wanting to promote plant-based dog food as a vet and a Mum 3 1/2 years ago, I felt so incredibly alone! All I knew was that I felt great changing my entire lifestyle in my 50’s by going 100% plant-based overnight, and our little family dog Ruff loved the food I was feeding him having been a little dog who had only ever eaten meat-based dog food….surely this was the kindest way to feed our pets for our future?
I remember excitedly telling colleagues who I had known for years about this exciting new way of feeding dogs sustainably, and no one seemed as excited as I did…in fact one incident I will never forget! I remember having a lunch break at the busy practice I was working at and talking to a vet friend who I had such respect for and who I had known for years.
He had been a veterinary dermatologist most of his career and had actually been there to advise me when our own black Labrador Slick had been diagnosed with allergic itchy skin almost 18 years ago!!! I was so excited to tell him about why I had turned myself plant-based (as I tucked into my delicious avocado sandwich during our lunch break) and I proceeded to tell him how wonderful the food was at sorting allergic skin cases in dogs.
It was a truly novel protein diet far superior to any of the hydrolysed diets that we had been prescribing for years.
I waited for his answer expecting him to want to find out more to really benefit his itchy patients as I had already seen such remarkable changes in allergic dogs in the short time that I had been helping owners. He looked at me with a blank expression and said – ‘Would you like some more tea – I am making myself some’. I was so taken aback and felt saddened, shocked, numb, frightened (was I making a mistake?) and I felt so very alone!!
We all hate criticism, but being ignored can be as hurtful. I never mentioned it to him again and I held back mentioning it to any vet friends and colleagues unless they asked me about it. There is such a lack of knowledge about balanced and kind plant-based feeding of our pets.
How things have changed 3 years later and it is almost as if I am finally seeing through the fog and achieving my dream of sharing my vision and educating others. I was able to speak to vet students this month about sustainable pet foods which was a joy to catch them before they are ‘tainted’ by the large pet food industry companies.
The Start Of Inspiring Live Webinars
What an inspiring and fun evening having our very first live webinar this month with all the people who had bought the Plant-Based Dog Nutrition Course. I just loved having my Zoom screen full of wonderful people who I have helped. I do know that I had a vet, a doctor, a physiotherapist, a journalist, an occupational therapist, an ex-nurse and a teacher amongst the diverse interested people listening and sharing their concerns and listening intently to all I had to say….what amazing people (and their dogs) and best of all is that we all share the same vision for healthier dogs and a healthier planet!
“As a vet, I believe in a kinder, healthier way to feed our pets that does no damage to our environment, harms no animals and uses fresh, healthy plant-based ingredients for a balanced and delicious diet”
Arielle Vegan Vet
“If nobody changes then nothing changes but if somebody changes then everything changes!”
Arielle Vegan Vet
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 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
Fireworks tips for our plant-based dogs
None of us want our dogs to be stressed – there is nothing worse than seeing them anxious and unhappy
Evidence Based Medicine
The meat-based fed control group showed 11 deficiencies while the long-term vegan fed category presented only two deficiencies
Race Against Time
As a vet and a mother and a dog lover, I am passionate about feeding dogs a plant-based diet to support our future
Confessions of a vegan vet
David Attenborough makes a stark warning on extinction and I felt it would be too upsetting to watch!
How life has changed for vets since the pandemic
Here is a day in my life to share what it is like to be a vet coping with the changes of how the pandemic has shaped a new way of being a small animal vet
Our Gamechangers Connection
We are so proud to say that our little unit that we hire to hold all the wonderful VEGDOG food and supplement that we import, is owned by none other than the wonderful and very dignified Gary Wilks
What about homecooking for my giant dog?
We have a simple solution when home-cooking for giant breed dogs
Help my dog has itchy ears!
Itchy, painful ears can affect your dog’s quality of life quite significantly
Dogs CAN digest starches
Calculations have revealed that dogs can digest about 99 % of plant-based starch if provided to them in a suitable form
We just need to stop eating animals
As a small business, we will do all we can to continue to promote the nourishment of our pets with wholesome, clean and nutritious plant-based foods that hold no dangers of causing a second pandemic.
