As a little girl of about six or seven, I remember sitting at our family's formica kitchen table, in a chrome and plastic chair, eating dinner. As usual, meat was on our plates. It was an ugly brown color with a strange texture. The vegetables and potatoes were recognizable, but the brown blob on my plate? Not so much! I don't remember exactly when I learned that the brown blob used to be part of a live animal that was killed and then put in front of me to eat. Even at that age, I knew something was wrong with the whole idea that animals were food. I couldn't verbalize or question adults at the time, but I knew.
Sitting at that table, I couldn't bear to put the unrecognizable body part in my mouth. As always, our beautiful boxer Taffy, sat under the table, waiting for a morsel to fall so she could gobble it up. Taffy loved all food, whether meat, veggies, fruit, or the horrible white bread of the 50s. She ate it all with superb joy.
My mother would tell me that I wouldn't be excused from the dinner table unless I ate the meat. I groaned with disgust! But, I figured out that if I slowly slid the meat from my plate onto the floor while no one was looking, I'd be excused. And that I did! I'm sure Taffy was ecstatic! Fast forward to now, January 2025. I haven't eaten an animal for almost 40 years, and have excluded animal products from my diet for ten years.
In 2024 I lost my two beautiful Australian Shepherds four weeks apart. Milo and Rosco. And seven months later, our sweet Tasha.
On January 25th Milo collapsed one morning unexpectedly. The day before, he seemed fine. We rushed him to the vet where they found that a mass behind his spleen had ruptured and he was bleeding internally. We had to make the horrific decision to have him euthanized. With lots of research, I found the name for the mass that burst; hemangiosarcoma. Four weeks later, Rosco died of the same thing. Only his was a slow bleed. He was euthanized at home. They weren't of the same litter. Tasha, our Pug/Aussie mix died in November of what I believe depression and old age. She was never the same after Milo especially, died. It makes me ill with sadness to think of the deaths of my sweet dogs.
From the 1950’s until now, cancer has increased at an alarming rate according to the International Agency for Research of Cancer. And those statistics are only about humans. The Institute for Responsible Technology said a study was done that shows a link of cancer in dogs, to lawn pesticides. (by | Jan 14, 2020 | News) The cows we kill, the wheat we eat all live on or grow in the soil soaked in pesticides. And all are linked to the food our dogs and us humans, eat. My point for the above information is to show factors that cause cancer. Not just cancer in humans, but also in animals. As I looked long and hard trying to find when cancer was first reported in pets, I found very little. However, the 1960's dogs and cats were becoming more accepted as a family member. This prompted the beginning treating pets with cancer.
Another fact I want people to think about is how we've totally domesticated, or modified, our furry babies from wolves to submissive, mostly stay at home pets. I hear and read so much about how great a raw meat diet is for our dogs. That could be true if you know exactly where the cow comes from, what it ate, and how it died. All of that information will tell you about toxicity. Regarding how the animal died to become food is a level of poison itself. Critical thinking skills alone will tell you that injesting another living being's pain and suffering can't be healthy.
There is a theory called the Web of Energy which suggests that all things are connected. This theory is backed by science. So, if it's true, the energy of an animal who has been tortured, recieved pain and suffering, even the psychological torture of knowing that it's about to die, will enter the body of humans who injest that animal.
Back to the fact that most dogs have had their wildness bred out of them for hundreds of years. We know how most domestic dogs are probably 100% dependent on humans, and if we have pets, then we're responsible for their well-being. It's kind of sad really, knowing that dogs were once independent of humans, were wild, and only depended on themselves and nature. Yet that's how humans have screwed up our earth and other living beings . That's also why I clearly question the raw diet, kibble, canned, or any other pocessed food made for dogs.
Our pet dogs don't hunt for their food anymore, they wait for humans to feed them. I've been questioning all diets for dogs. And while I've decided to give my dog human grade, mostly organic, food, I also feed them lots of wild caught salmon, free range eggs, ground turkey and freeze dried liver.
Because I'm a vegan, I looked up vegatarian and vegan dog diets. Now I'm questioning whether the meat, fish, organic greek yogurt I feed them, goes against my personal moral ethics.
Just mentioning removing animal protien from my dog's diet to ANYONE, and I'm immediately shut down. "Dogs need meat protien! They're carnivores!!!" That's the very firm, dismissive reply I get. It seems taboo to even bring the idea of a vegetarian dog into a conversation.
When I became a vegetarian almost forty years ago, it wasn't a very popular diet, to say the least. I was viewed as weird and unhealthy. Most people said the same thing: "You need animal protien, humans are carnivores". It's the exact same thing that's said about a dog's diet today. I'm positive the meat industry is happy that so many humans believe their lies.
After the death of Milo, we adopted Enzo, our Aussie/Great Pyreneese, he'll be five soon. Four months later, we rescued Elliot, an Aussie, who was on the euthanasia list at the local shelter. He too, is around five. These dogs, especially Elliot because I believe Milo sent him, are tuly the joy of my life. I want to make sure I'm doing all that I can to make sure they live long and healthy lives. I have so many regrets about Milo, Rosco and Tasha. So many that I think about at 2am any given night!
I'll be honest, I've wondered if I can give my sweet dogs a vegetarian diet that satisfies their hunger, but also provides them with clean, whole foods. I'm wondering if there's a diet that fills all their nutritional needs without eating dead animals.
I haven't come to any decision, that's for sure, but if you're a person that truly questions, the below is an amazing read. It's from a July 12th, 2024 PUNCH interview with Martha Rosenberg, author of Big Food, Big Pharma, Big Lies.
"Few Americans realize that the food sold to us – especially meat – is often banned in other countries. For example, the European Union will not import our hormone-saturated meat, which EU medical officials link to breast and prostate cancer. Asian countries reject the growth drug ractopamine, which is endemic in US agriculture because it produces more weight on animals and thus more profit for meat raisers. To retard bacterial growth, chickens here are dipped in chlorine, which has caused other countries to reject our poultry exports. The notorious “pink slime” – which caused an uproar in US ag markets but is still legal – is made by treating ground beef with ammonia puffs to retard the growth of E. Coli. But ammonia is not allowed in many other countries’ food chains. "
With the help of the internet, many people are figuring things out and trying to eat whole, unprocessed, organic, cruelty free food. Personally, because of how domesticated dogs are, I believe that what's good for humans is good for dogs. And what's bad for humans is bad for dogs.
When Covid hit, and thousands of people began to die, scientists were scrambling to find answers. There was a study that involved groups of vegatarians and vegans. In that study, they found that these groups were more resistant to the virus. When the vaccines came out, those studies stopped.
There has been all kinds of evidence that prove a vegetarian or vegan diet is extremely healthy. So...why not with dogs?
Before you judge me and claim I'm wrong to even question, just remember, mostly all humans who changed the world began by asking radical questions.
I want what's best for my dogs. I want them to live long lives. Because MY life depends on it.
