Socrates’ Story

Back in the mid 2000’s I was scrolling through Craigslist in the free section and I stumbled upon one listing that was too good to be true. The title was “Free Tibetan Spaniel”. Shocked, I had to respond immediately! After some exchanged messages, I was surely on my way to pick up the dog that would change my life, Socrates.

Socrates went to College (BS and MS) with me almost daily and moved from place to place. (He’s got a PhD by now..) As he aged, I learned more and more about what it took to care for a senior dog. Prior to this, I had always considered my family “dog lovers” but truly, I did not understand the concept of being a bare minimum pet owner and a extraordinary pet owner. Having only had dogs that were “outside dogs” and fed kibble from Costco or the local pet store, I assumed that was all it took. I learned some things along the way like how to care for an inside dog and choose what I considered '“better food” but boy, my world was rocked when he truly got sick.

Diagnosed with Kidney Failure, I learned the hard way not to take things for face value. Surviving is not thriving. As I fed him the big branded kibble and soft food diet from the vet, I slowly watched his health decline every couple of weeks. I was stumped because every time we did blood work, the vet told me “His numbers look great!” But I knew him…And he wasn’t great. It was that moment that led me into the alternative medicine world of holistic health. I went back to school after my MS to become a certified dog nutritionist and swiftly changed his diet. “Food is thy medicine” -Hippocrates . Almost immediately after the initial transition, his health drastically improved.

it’s 2021, and his kidneys are still failing (Not particularly worse than diagnosed in 2016), he has cancer but Socrates has a new lease on life! He is living life to the fullest, enjoys eating every meal, and meeting other furry friends with minimal signs of decline.

I now work every day to educate other pet owners so that they can avoid what I went through. But, if you are in the same spot that I was, remember- a diagnosis does not necessarily mean a death sentence. There are significant changes you can make to give your animal a better, healthier life. Reach out to us, send us a message- we are more than happy to help!

If it were not for owning Socrates, I would never be here.

In memory of Socrates- 2022, almost 20 years old!