Photo taken just a few days ago.Let me give you a little history about Muffins. She is 13 years old and has a curved spine. Also when she walks her knee caps move out of place. Things started getting hard for her back in 2011 when we lived in California. Back then she still had a lot of spunk and we were able to take her for walks on the beach. Shortly after California she seemed to be in a lot of pain when she walked and she became very lazy. When we moved to Wyoming I took her to a vet and had her put on pain meds. I didn't like giving her meds because I know they cause liver damage. I kept her on them for about a month and saw no improvement at all. I stopped giving them to her.
Muffins in California, 2011Fast froward to 2012, which is when Cody and I went vegan. I never would of thought that I would find a vegan dog food or even consider switching my dogs to a meat free diet. My views and beliefs changed overtime, I educated myself on how the dog/cat food is made and I just decided that if meat causes so many problems in the human body, isn't it possible it does the same to our pets? Made sense to me.
Muffins and I on the beach in California, 2011Stephanie from Share The Love informed me that the pet food brand Natural Balance made a vegan dog food formula. I was so excited about it and I was able to just go to my local pet food store and buy it. The price is pretty comparable to brands like IAMS, which is what they were eating prior to switching to Natural Balance. Within only a few weeks of switching the dogs to their new food I saw results. When I fed Muffins IAMS she would barely eat a bowl worth a day, even go a few days without eating. It was heartbreaking.
There were days where I would come home from work and have to check to see if she was still breathing. It was awful. Sometimes I would just start balling my eyes out because I feared the worst. Muffins would sleep for hours and never even get up to drink water or go outside. I had watched my poor little dogs health decline very badly over the last year. She was super skinny and had trouble getting off the deck to use the restroom and even going over the doorway to get in and out of the house she would fall.
It's so hard to watch your pets get old. For a long time I didn't think she would make it to the end of this year. However, after switching her diet I have this completely different dog. It's as if I rolled back time. For one she loves the food and she is eating regularly. She has gained some much needed weight. She wants to be up and about. She goes outside multiple times a day on her own without being forced. She shows happiness and excitement again. All I did was switch her food.
I actually was talking to a co-worker about the vegan dog food the other day. It was so refreshing to have someone show interest and ask questions about it. She planned to tell her aunt about the food because she has a dog that's older and not doing that well. That's when I knew I really wanted to share it with my readers. :) Cody and I plan to take a vacation this year to California. It means a lot to me to take Muffins to see the ocean again. I've never seen her so happy. As far as Chloe goes, she has lost some much needed weight.
Chloe is no longer the shape of a barrel. She now has an hour glass shape the way she should. The results with both my dogs have been great. I wrote this post so that I could pass the information along. I know not everyone will agree with me and that's fine. Again, this is my choice and all the proof I need is in front of me everyday. I can't wait to walk Muffins on the beach again!
