Almost a decade ago, our much loved adopted terrier mix Russ became acutely ill with a rare form of anemia. One day he was terrorizing the mail carrier and the next day he couldn’t move. He spent two weeks in intensive care and, sadly, succumbed to complications of his disease.
After some research on this disease and animal wellness in general, we found that it was very likely that Russ’ life might have been prolonged by something as simple as his diet. His life and illness were a wakeup call that we could make a huge difference in animals’ lives and that it was time to realize that the same old way of doing business wasn’t necessarily the best way.
At the time I owned a dog walking and pet sitting business and I began to take an even keener interest in the overall weight and health of my customer cats and dogs. I had already begun researching traditional, integrative and holistic health care – from raw foods to herbs to homeopathics and everything in between. Through this research we discovered the great dietary benefits of feeding raw and thanks to Russ we began transitioning our animal family to raw feeding.
We saw fast results! One of our cats, Woody, was diagnosed with lymphoma. With guidance from our holistic veterinarian, he lived two years beyond what the conventional veterinarians predicted with a good quality of life and no invasive procedures, and we attribute much of this to the raw, organic diet that we had started.
My husband Norman and I decided to go further and I went back to school to further our knowledge of canines and felines – graduating as a Certified Veterinary Assistant with an interest in Companion Animal Nutrition. The final project – what else? – “Why You Should Feed Raw Foods.”
It was clear that feeding raw foods – carefully selected and prepared – made a huge difference in the lives of the animal friends that have enjoyed being part of our development process. After several years of research and development of the formula, production of ingredients, sourcing traceable local ingredients, safe manufacturing processes and the pet food industry, we officially opened the doors to Pawgevity™, LLC in April, 2009.
The Pawgevity™ Vision is to change the way the world feeds their pets; promoting longer, healthier and happier lives for animals and their caregivers.
It was with Russ and Woody in our minds that we founded Pawgevity™ Pet Food. They are in the Pawgevity™ logo and will remain mascots of the company for years to come, always with us and guiding our way to making life better for dogs and cats aroung the world.
