Why Good Food Matters

Before May we had one dog, Leo. Then we adopted Gordy who has filled the slot of emergency back-up dog. You should always have a dog and an emergency back-up dog. I have told the story of where he came from, but the short version is he was being trained to be a service dog but didn't quite make the cut and washed out. Thanks to Sue, who works for me, we were able to adopt him. He's been a great fit for everyone and is a great dog. Here they are together, Leo on the right, Gordy on the left.

When we got Gordy we noticed that his coat was coarse and a little scraggly, and he shed a lot. A LOT. We have always fed high quality food, in our case we have long used Hills Science Diet but there are many fine brands. We give a few treats and the occasional people food, but mainly our dogs eat Hills. And come September we noticed a funny thing. His coat was significantly better. It was smooth, soft, glossy, and it just looked better, like a golden retriever should. And we have noticed a lot less shedding.

My wife the veterinarian has always touted the benefit of quality food but this is the first time we've been able to experience first hand how amazing it is. It's one thing to tell people something you've learned from the Hills sales representatives, and it's another to be able to say, "My dog..."

I want to mention the service dog facility for a minute.  They are a fine place and do great works in trying to supply dogs to people who need them, but they are a non-profit and run on a tight budget. I cannot fault them one little bit for having to save money on food. If they have X number of dollars to spend on food and they can get 100 pounds of brand A or 200 pounds of brand B they are going to choose B and I don't blame them. I would too. It's up to the forever home to upgrade foods.

Any good brand is fine, Hills, Iams, Pro Plan, and the many, many, many small label premium foods.  But don't expect instant results. It took a good four months for us to notice and we weren't looking. I guess we could have seen subtle changes earlier but for us it was kind of a light bulb moment, where we said, "Hey, do you think his coat is better?" So it pays to either be patient, or to just not be paying attention.

Dogs happen

We don't usually go looking for pets. Pets usually find us.

Before last week we had a dog and three cats, all of whom were due to the right mix of time and place (or if you are a Star Trek fan (like I am) being in the right spot on the time/space continuum). Lucky, the cat, was hit by a car and brought to the Aurora Veterinary Clinic several years ago. My wife, the stellar veterinarian, pulled him from the brink of death, then stitched him together in somewhat Frankensteinian fashion. Then after the owner didn't want him, she was stuck bringing him home.

Cosmo the cat was born at the Aurora Veterinary Clinic. One of the staff had found a stray cat who turned out to be pregnant. All the kittens found homes, one of which happened to be ours.

Custard was a kennel boarder. The owner, whose name was Joe, needed to board him and when he got here he told me that the cat was a gift from his children and he really didn't have the inclination to mess with it. He offered me $50 to find the cat a home. Guess where he ended up.

Leo was one of a large litter of golden doodles that the breeder had a hard time getting rid of. As they got bigger and bigger, she made a deal with my wife to trade a puppy for veterinary services.

Pets who are no longer with us include Comet, a large mixed breed who was born at the Aurora Kennel after his mother was rescued form being tied to the railroad tracks in Solon; Buzzworm, who Robin got from a clinic she interned at when she was in vet school; Molly, a research cat Robin brought home form vet school; Mosey, a cat who moseyed into the vet clinic several years ago; Riley, a cat born of an accidental (aren't they all?) litter of my mother in law; and Hogan, a German shepherd who had a broken leg that the owner didn't want to repair so we had it fixed and kept him.

We've also had three dobermans, all of which we paid for. We like dobes.

And that brings us to Gordy.

 
My newest staff member, Sue, is a volunteer trainer for Pilot Dogs, based in Columbus. One of the dogs she worked with ended up flunking out of the program because he shied away from things like street signs and such. She mentioned she was going to Columbus to bring him back and try to find him a home. Eureka! That little light bulb that signals "Pet Opportunity" flashed in my brain. And we'd been wanting to find a pal for Leo.

Another pet has found us. I hope he likes it here.