2008-09-14

I took on a dog that was very, very skinny, extremely stressed, and sick with a major cold and diarrhea caused by an intestinal parasite that he picked up at an overcrowded animal shelter. That was August 22, 2008. He was only the second dog I've had, and I didn't feel all that equipped to handle him (I'm still learning!).

I was scared to death he was going to die on my watch. But I immediately ditched all commercially prepared food and started feeding him by hand, scrambled eggs, rice, and cheese. I started doing research and found your book, which I enjoyed and printed. I've employed its recipes (for the most part — I still have a cultural need to just sear the meat before serving, still mostly raw, and I still include rice), but the results have been phenomenal. I bought a $20 food chopper at Wal–Mart to chop the vegetables and the organ meats, and for most things it works just fine. I use cheese as training treats. And this was while he was on medication, which as we all know can hinder weight gain.

Now he's a happy bundle of energy, more than I can handle, actually. We go out for long, energetic walks and today I bought my first set of running shoes in over 15 years. We may wind up saving each other here!

Because of his poor health, I took pictures of him every day to examine his progress in detail to make sure I could tell for sure whether he was improving or getting worse. They wound up being great before and after testimonials for the power of healthy food for your dog. These pictures are only 10 days apart! Except for the last, which is 3 weeks from the first, I think. I'm allowing him to stay lean and energetic, and we're working on building up muscle.

Thank you for your very helpful website – Nancy

2009-03-13

I just wanted to write and tell you what a difference this new diet has made in my dogs' over–all health. I am awe struck and I have only had them on it for about three weeks.

I have two Chihuahuas and a Sharpei mix. My Sharpei (Nelly) had skin problems or allergies, I think due to the dog food I was feeding her. I could run the sweeper three times a day and still have hair everywhere. I was seriously thinking of finding a new home for her. I work two jobs and have teenagers and not enough time to sweep constantly.

That's when I started searching for a new diet for the dogs. I came across this and started it right away. It doesn't really consume anymore of my time and I don't have to sweep everyday anymore! I just can't get over the difference in their coats. They are so shiny and healthy looking. Thank you so much Jesse!

I actually enjoy feeding time for them. They love it. Even the finicky Chihuahua! And another great part about this is that they don't poop near as much as they used to. I know that Nelly would go at least six times a day if not more. I have learned so much from your website. I have read a lot of books about feeding a raw diet and one would say do this and the other one say don't do that and back and forth but none of it worked out for us and none of it was as simple as this is!

I just can't thank you enough.

– Shani

2005-08-15

We thought we would write to let you know how our cats are doing on the fresh food diet. In a word — fantastic! We have four feline companions in total, ranging in ages from 5 months to 9 years. All are healthy & full of vigour now. When they were eating canned and dry food they often had diarrhea (we fed vet recommended food), would throw up regularly after meals and had constant problems with hairballs (we brushed them a lot). All that is stopped now. One of our males, part Russian Blue, had recurring FUS (feline urological syndrome). With this natural way of feeding it has completely cleared up. Another remarkable thing is they almost never drink water now (we always leave fresh water out), all they need is provided in their food. We feel a lot better about feeding fresh meat and such rather than man made food with preservatives and chemical additives, etc. We want our cats with us for a long time and feel with this diet they will enjoy lengthy and healthy lives.

Thank you for introducing us to the feeding of fresh wholesome food the way Mother Nature intended. It did take a little while for them (and us) to get used to it, like asking kids not to eat junk food, but now they attack their meals with gusto! Thanks again.

— Lori and Russ