What I can say is  - Meg is DIFFERENT

I am so excited to introduce you to Meg!!! Originally named Nutmeg, which is so appropriate because she is a total Nut and Meg... We adopted her from the Animal Rescue League in Pittsburgh on February 12, 2002. They thought she was around 6 months but we think closer to a year is more like it. We didn't know about raw feeding till about 6 months after adopting her. We were heading down the conventional road of grocery store kibble, milk bones and yearly vaccinations. Fortunately, I was in the right place at the right time. I walked into a grooming shop to inquire about their services. Literally, as I walked in I witnessed the owner giving her collie a RAW chicken leg. I flipped out and said to the woman,"Are you crazy? You are going to kill that dog. Dogs can't have chicken bones!" The owner proceeded to tell me about raw feeding and it was like somebody flicked a switch on in my head. It made total sense to me that this is their evolutionary diet and what they should be eating for optimum health. I immediately went and bought a couple books and began feeding raw.

I am so thankful I did. I don't have a tear jerking life saving story to tell.

What I can say is, Meg is DIFFERENT.

I have owned a pet sitting business for 5 years and, naturally, am with dogs all day everyday. She has boundless energy spending her days chasing the squirrels and chipmunks out of HER yard. Her coat is soft as angora, which is the first thing people mention when meeting her. Meg has the clearest eyes, cleanest teeth and ears and is lean and muscular. When I compare Meg to all the dogs I know that are fed kibble everyday there is just no comparison. I can tell you countless problems I see everyday: ear infections, skin problems, obesity, diabetes and on and on. Seeing the difference in Meg and kibble fed dogs, I would never feed kibble again. It is definitely a commitment but worth the time and a little extra money to do it.

I discovered A Place for Paws through Meg's vet Dr. Knueven. I am very happy I started buying raw food from you. I love that I can place an order and have it in 2 days. I think I get quick service because I live in Western, Pa. Your food is so fresh and "smells" great!. Well, Meg thinks it smells great. We thank you for producing such a wonderful product and spreading the word that "Raw is the best for four Paws!"

Sincerely,

Meg and her family

Toni S.

"The Most Beautiful Coat"

I am sending you pictures of my dogs Mia and Belle.  Mia is an 8 year old Aussie, 60 lbs., who was rescued from the local APCA, she was one and half went I got her.  She is one of the calmest and smartest dogs I have ever had and with her I have learned to love training and working with a dog.  Mia was the first dog I fed a raw diet to,and she loved it from the get go....especially Tripe (PU). The improvement to her overall health is evident in her annual vet visit (they are not real advocates of raw food, but tolerate me doing it), but the healthy teeth, the energy level she has and her coat...she has the most beautiful coat....long and silky, people love to pet her and she loves to be petted.   Belle is also an APCA rescued at 12 weeks, she is a German Shepard/Newfie mix and is 6 years old, 80lbs, (their is also a picture with the twin sister,Lilly, attached, also raw fed).  Belle has always been fed a raw diet, it was so much better for her, being a large dog..her growth was slow and steady. She was a sickly puppy when I got her, but I believe that her diet is one of the reasons she is the beautiful, sweet dog she is today...people stop and always comment on how beautiful she is.  In these pictures she had not fully developed her mane and legs feathers....she truly is a beautiful, healthy dog.  The other thing I do for my dogs is titer tests. Belle has never needed another shot since her puppy boosters!!   I think the health of my dogs' skin, coat, and teeth and that they have no bad odor coming from their mouths, ears, or body are the most noticeable differences with a raw feed dog versus a kibble fed dog.  I love when I babysit my friends' dogs and give them a raw diet during their stay....they never go back to kibble.)

Also attached is a picture of my sister and her puppymill newfie rescue Abby.  Abby was a senior when rescued and was not treated well, just bred and bred.

But, for the last couple of years of dear sweet Abby's life, she was treated with tons of love and attention and given the best diet that she could have been given, raw meat.

Jean T.

"Convinced about using a raw food diet"

 I discovered raw feeding through a golden retriever I had adopted from someone I knew. The dog was an older pet that had suffered with the usual skin, ear, and other allergies so common to goldens. “Harry” was 10 years old and on steroids, prednisone and other allergy meds. He was a mess. His owners could no longer stand how he smelled and wanted to put him to sleep. I admit Harry’s odor was awful! It was terribly reminiscent of a stinky foot odor. Phew! It was hard to be in the same room with him – no kidding – that’s how bad his odor was.

I knew Harry did not have much longer to live, maybe a few years. He was overweight and the vet said he developed atrophied thigh muscles from not being exercised. The vet also said it was just a matter of time before his legs gave out. Getting the weight off was of major importance but because of his weak legs, the vet advised caution on extended exercise. So without exercise as an option, limiting his food was vital but still, I knew it would be close to a starvation diet if I would use only food as the weight loss pivot point. So weight was pushed into the background while I figured out what to do about his skin problems. About this time, I had been reading about raw diets and had been given the book Dr. Pitcairn’s Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats.

 I decided to try Harry on a raw diet and followed the menu and supplement suggestions in the book. It involved a lot of preparation and food mixing but Harry responded great to all the items! First, he began to have more energy and his appetite seemed so much more satisfied with the raw foods. His red swollen feet began to look normal and did not bleed when he walked anymore. I decided to take Harry to work with me everyday so I could give him more exercise by walking him a couple times a day but the odor problem was, well, a big problem! However, I stuck to the program and in about two weeks, the odor was gone! It was like it happened overnight! Plus, I noticed his skin was beginning to heal and soon, his hair was growing in. In six months Harry’s coat had revitalized itself. He now had a fabulous silky red tinged golden retriever coat. Everyone was commenting on how beautiful his coat was, and remember, Harry was ten years old, so this was a big step. Harry began to drop a few pounds but nothing remarkable, mostly from the new increase in daily activities not so much because of any exercise routine, but he did have more energy for what he could do. No more bad breath either! Harry was now off all his meds. and I was using homeopathic preparations.

I began to look around for easier ways to feed Harry because the home-prepared meals were time consuming and I was working long hours. I found several companies on line that did the raw foods and a few that were new companies and packaged the food for retail sale. But, the best recommendation came from a girl who worked in the vet's office. She already knew about A Place for Paws Raw foods and gave me the web address. The rest is history. I loved how the food was so fresh and had many added healthy ingredients. It was now so easy to choose a meal for Harry! I even introduced him to the chicken necks from the company.

The vet could not believe the difference in Harry’s teeth. In fact, his teeth had become so white and clean; they looked better than my brother’s 2 yr old husky’s teeth. It took about a year to really stabilize Harry’s skin conditions. The only thing left were his ears. In about another 6 months (1 ½ yrs total) his ear problem was just a once in a while flare up, which was far better than his raw, red, itchy, oozing condition previously. I was totally convinced about using the raw food diet instead of the conventional pet foods.

It was about the time I adopted Harry that I also took in the “Office” cat as a pet. He was an indoor outdoor cat that usually hung around my office since I agreed to have the litter box and food. In the winter, the cat, Toro, would stay inside. The winter I got Harry, Toro was very sickly. He was old (13 yrs.) and I thought it was probably time for him to be put to sleep. I took him to the vet and it was found he had bad teeth, ear infections and a heart murmur. I decided to get his teeth fixed and give him a chance to recover. I took him home after the operation to watch him after the anesthesia. He ended up staying home as my pet.

Now that he would be an indoor cat, I decided to “clean him up”. I started him on some regular can and dry foods I thought were good from the local pet store. I was focused on Harry at this time and becoming the new parent of two pets at the same time was unexpected, so I was learning how to care for both and fit them into my budget and daily activities too. Toro recovered nicely from his tooth extractions but was hard to please with the food. As an office cat, Toro did a lot of hunting on his own. He would only eat what was offered to him as needed so it usually was dry food.

One day after putting down Toro’s dinner, he got so fed up with his food, he went over to Harry while Harry was eating and actually swatted the old fellow and chased him out of the bowl. Toro began to eat Harry’s meat. DUH. A light bulb went off in my head and I started Toro on the raw diet too. He made a remarkable turn around too. His energy level increased dramatically and he stared to run and play after the fashion of cats. Again, this was an old pet being revived. Toro had chronic ear problems too. It was approximately about a year before his ear problem cleared. No more infections, just overproduction of wax. Great. His coat also grew to be full and soft. He looked much healthier and maintained his energy level. Today, he will be 18 this summer. He plays with my new dog and we all go for 2 daily walks. (Toro learned how to walk on a harness with us.)

Harry stayed with me for 2 ½ years. His legs gave out at work one day and well, you know the story…The cat and I were lonely with out Harry, so I eventually got a new dog, a black Pug. His name is Alibi. I started him right off on A Place for Paws Raw foods. His health is remarkable. His coat is so shiny; people comment that it looks like silk. I will state again, I am convinced about the health benefits of the raw diet and recommend it!

Mariangela M