why we do what we do
Every dog should be a happy dog. You shouldn't get stressed trying to make that happen.
Learn some more about me and why I launched my very own pet pantry.
Are you sitting comfortably?
I've got be honest. Puppyhood was SH*T. And I mean literally - Mr. Whippy style.
From the moment I first chose her and chewed her manky shoelaces, I knew that mum was my forever mum. She worked it out pretty quickly too.
Shortly after that first visit, she took me to a place known as ‘home’. Although I was excited (SO MANY PEOPLE/THINGS TO CHEW), it got... messy. Think exorcist-style projectile vomit, with an abundance of poonamis.
Mum took me to this strange place - it smelt a bit too clean but everyone was super nice. I'll spare you the graphic details - but in the middle of all of the belly rubs, treats and cuddles, they stuck a seriously cold stick up my butt. Like, WTF dude – personal space and all that!
This went on for months. The visits to the scary-cold-stick-of-doom room carried on and on. I liked it less and less every time. The cycle of horror movie puke, Mr. Whippy-esq poo, alien experiment style poking and prodding continued, with frequent sleepovers.
Mum tried literally everything but things kept getting worse. Every time my food changed, I just felt rotten. They even told mum at one point that I might have to be “put to sleep.” No idea what that meant (still don’t) but cue the waterworks from mum. I'm guessing it wasn't good.
To cut a rather long (and somewhat gory) story short, it turns out I've actually got inflammatory bowel disease - also known as IBD. Hence feeling completely sh*tty for the first six months.
It took so much trial and error by mum – but with the help of our ever-faithful vet and his two hottie nurses, mum finally figured out exactly what ingredients were making me sick.
Things got a little better until a few months after my first birthday. I suddenly felt weird-AF and I collapsed. I couldn't sit, couldn’t stand, couldn't walk – I was a blob of fur lying on my side.
It all went Pete Tong pretty quickly. It turned out that the meds for my IBD had actually sent me into toxic shock. Go figure.
I was finally sent home and mum took my diet into her own hands. She stopped all the meds and put me on a raw (sorry vegan friends), natural and holistic diet (the latter is vegan-friendly).
Thankfully, because I'm pretty awesome - I pulled through. It was all fine until suddenly my number twos started looking a bit off again. And it was back to the sticks-of-doom we went.
I got to add another string to my bow - acute and chronic pancreatitis. Acute conditions are sudden and short bouts of inflammation whereas chronic is an ongoing/consistent inflammation and muggins here had both.
Cue a friggin’ MASSIVE surgery where I was cut from neck to butthole. You should have seen my coat. A crime against nature; it wasn’t pretty.
But with yet another saga out of the way, Mum worked with ‘The Holistic Vet’ to reset my proteins. Because obviously I became intolerant to all of the foods I was previously eating. They added some digestive enzymes, pre and probiotic potions, along with additional supplements to my meals and hey presto.
VEGANS PLS SKIP OR SKIM THIS BIT.
After the surgery, I could no longer tolerate common or readily available proteins – bye bye pork, duck and lamb. And hello wild rabbit, pheasant, kangaroo, quail, partridge and horse. Sorry horses & kangaroos - I know you’d win in an arm wrestle if we had arms.
WELCOME BACK VEGANS, I MISSED YOU.
For now, I'm on a very low fat, single, novel protein diet and my gut is doing great. I’m full of beans, learned to swim and I'm bullying dad again. My right hip on the other hand is an entirely new issue my mum is dealing with – you can call me water-dog these days, who also happens to be allergic to chlorine. HA! I don’t make mum’s life easy.
On a serious note, don’t be afraid to advocate for your dog and challenge your vet or whomever else you’re dealing with when it comes to your dog’s health, training, behaviour or nutrition.
Food and nutrition play a huge part in living a full, happy and healthy life. Medicines are essential and play their part too, but it's better to avoid using meds where you can, until you really need them. It's hard work for sure, but totally worth it long-term. Just look at me now!
Although I might develop further health conditions in the future, I'm not worried. After all, I have the most proactive (neurotic) mum. She's already made a head start and has started a course with The British College of Canine Studies. Sounds like the right place to do this kind of learning if you're asking me.
She's pursuing a Level 3 Canine Health & Nutrition Diploma so that this time around, we’re prepared if things go south. She's already a wizard with all things nutrition but she tells me this will make her even MORE clever. Impressive eh?
We've decided to take all our experiences and knowledge, and wrap it up into something pretty special.
I got to launch my own store with the best name ever.
Enzo's Pet Pantry was born.
You can now enjoy our epic range of hand-picked products, vegan ones too - tried and tested by me, and our pack of trusted brand ambassadors. Plus, we even have our very own range of Enzo's Pet Pantry treats.
