Vegetarian Dogs

Towards a world without exploitation

When I first met Verona re-Bow many years ago, she had three dogs and told me that she was feeding them a vegetarian diet. I was very sorry for them. It sounded completely unnatural to me. Dogs are carnivores, right? Then I met the dogs and they were obviously not only exceptionally healthy but very happy as well. She would put together a concoction of vegetables and grains, set it down for them and they would be very enthusiastic about eating it. Unlike my cat, fed on the same dry catfood day after day who hardly bothers to come when I yell the dinner call. Over the years I have known Verona, the family has grown and, along with her partner Jonathan Dune, she has become an animal activist, working to raise the consciousness of those who see companion animals as disposable toys and other animals as a necessary food source. Through careful experimentation and research they have developed a diet for their six dogs that gives them all the nutrients they need. This diet not only keeps them healthy in the present time but also may prevent some of the chronic diseases that dogs on a commercial food diet are prone to.

So many people have asked Verona and Jonathan for their recipes that they have now compiled a cookbook, Vegetarian Dogs. Verona has been a professional artist for many years and she has included paintings of all of her dogs in the book so it is as beautiful as it is useful. I think there are many people in this community who do not realize the negative impact of commercial dogfood on both the long-term health of their own animals and on the natural resources of this planet. It just doesn't make sense for people who have very good ethical reasons to be vegetarian themselves, to go to the market and pick up big bags of meat byproducts for their animals. Talking recently with Verona and Jonathan I asked them some questions about their book.

What was the primary reason you started to feed your dogs a vegetarian diet?

We were trying to act out in our own lives the concept of harmlessness. As compassionate people we are concerned about all suffering. The way people are treating other living creatures of this planet, especially those we raise to eat, is cruel and inhumane. We could not endorse this cruelty by buying meat products for our dogs to eat.

Isn't it natural for dogs to eat meat?

Jonathan: I began to research the official dietary requirements of dogs and the process of producing commercial dog food. I discovered two things, first, that the vegetarian food I was currently preparing for the dogs lacked some nutrients which might be important for optimum health. Second, that the unhealthy nature of some dog food was based on the meat itself. In fact, several commercial meat-based foods will actually produce clinical deficiencies (Morris & Rogers, Journal of Nutrition, 1994).

After adjusting the vegetarian diet to meet all the needs of health and watching our own dogs thrive on it over many years the whole concept of whether it is a "natural" diet or not became unimportant. To me, avoiding cruelty to lambs, rabbits, chickens, cattle and horses is more important than providing a semblance of "naturalness" in our companion animals lives.

How were you able to adjust the diet to meet all the nutritional requirements?

We used the guidelines of the American Assoc. of Feed Control Officials in conjunction with specific research findings to add calcium, zinc, vitamin B-12, and Vitamin D. Wheat germ is one of the most important supplements.

Is it easy to prepare the food?

If you are a vegetarian yourself you know that preparing food with love and care is easy. The basic cooking of grains can be done ahead for several days meals. There is also a recipe in the book for a multigrain meal that requires no cooking.

Is it more expensive to make my own food?

No, even with the supplements it is much cheaper. We buy our bulk supplies from the Mountain Peoples Warehouse, through a co-op that is active in this area. Like most vegetarians, we add to the diet food that is in season, like avocados from our neighbors trees, or vegetables we grow ourselves.

How can I tell if my dog is healthy?

Just like humans, health can be seen clearly by shiny hair, bright eyes and a loving disposition. Most of the dogs in our family were abandoned by others after abuse or neglect, making them unlikely to be adopted. When brought to our home they adjusted easily to their new food and environment. Our dogs rarely fight and then only under conditions of extreme stress. They share their food and our attention willingly with each other. Dogs do not enjoy solitude and much troublesome behavior is rooted in this fact.

Is there any packaged vegetarian dog food available?

Yes, there are companies that produce vegetarian or vegan dog food but read the labels carefully. Some labels say "natural" and contain meat from lambs, rabbits, etc. There is a list of sources in the book.

How many dogs do you have now and where did you get them?

Presently we have six dogs in our family. Sunny is the oldest, she was left behind by her owners when they moved and we rescued her wandering on a main highway. Betty is Jonathan's dog that he has had since she was a puppy. Angel is one of four beautiful, young dogs we found deep in a canyon who had been severely mistreated. Picking up these dogs is the incident that pushed us into animal activism. Elvis came from Woods Animal Shelter. They had had him 10 months, he was adopted and returned four times and they were about to put him down. Java was rescued from the highway. Phoenix was found on the 101 at night with a broken femur and hip. She was about to be put down when we took her in. Two vets refused to treat her but we finally got her care and now she can run with the rest of the family.

Tell us about your plan for an animal refuge.

All the profits from the sale of this book will go towards creating a place where animals that have been discarded by our culture can live in peace. We hope to attract others with this goal so we can live in community on land in the North County. We hope to have a mix of animals and to be as close as possibly self-supporting.

Please support this project by sending for a copy of Vegetarian Dogs right now. If you are not quite ready to commit to changing your companion animals diet you will still enjoy the information in the book and, as I said before, the artwork is incredibly beautiful.

You can send a check for $12 to Vegetarian Dogs, Box 7056, Halcyon, CA 93421. O