The Who, Where and Whys of Animal Wise

Every week we say hello with two basic lines: "Hi, this is Mike Fry, and this is Beth Nelson." And, "You are listening to Animal Wise Radio."

 

Neither of us is a radio professional, nor do we pretend we are experts in all things animal. Each of us, however, has long been interested in animals. Mike's connections are extensive and varied, based in wildlife rehabilitation and companion animal welfare. My experience came primarily through nature activities and personal pets. Overall, we're just passionate about companion animal welfare, wildlife, our natural world and the many connections we allshare.

 

Animal Wise Radio grew out of a very simple call in, pet-talk radio hour where Mike Nelson and Linda Wolf, DVM, would talk about topics related to animal care. The show began as a simple offer from a local station to fill an hour of airtime and turned into a happy partnering between that station and Animal Ark Shelter in Minnesota, where Mike holds his real job as Executive Director.

 

So, what does this have to do with raw feeding? I'm getting to that.

 

A couple of years ago, I started volunteering with Animal Wise Radio, which led to some on-air time and eventually I was brought on staff. One thing I quickly learned was that Animal Ark, although a small no-kill shelter, was a scrappy, curious and innovative organization willing to question the status quo, pitch in and work hard to get the job done!

 

Even early on as Mike and I brainstormed about program topics, one kept resurfacing. We both were clear about the connection between what we fed our dogs and cats, and their overall health and well-being. We wanted to share that message.

 

Why were we passionate about that? It's because we'd both had unhealthy pets. Ripper and Daisy were their names, and they each gave us some raw food schooling.

 

For years, Mike fed his short haired Tabby cat Ripper a well known brand of kibble. It was considered one of the best. At age 18, Ripper had lived a good long life — or so Mike thought — and was gravely ill. Given her history of liver failure, hyperthyroidism, lethargy, dull coat and "bag of bones" look, it seemed time to make arrangements to let her go.

 

A holistic vet came to Mike's home, observed Ripper's condition and listened as Mike chronicled the health issues. Instead of euthanizing Ripper, she asked if Mike was open to trying something different. Different, as prescribed by this veterinarian, was a quick switch to raw, natural food, along with temporary use of two herbal supplements: one to stimulate appetite and one to cleanse the liver.

 

What happened next? Ripper resurrected! Within three days of her urgent raw food transition, she was back to naughty cat antics, counter surfing and couch jumping. Sweet Ripper was back, a renewed cat. For the next three years Ripper thrived, never even missing the litter box. When her time ultimately arrived, her health failed quickly in one day's time.

 

When I asked Mike about Ripper's raw food transition, I wondered what he thought of the vet's dietary advice and asked if he even understood what "raw food" meant. As he mused over my question and Ripper's amazing return to health, Mike said, "You know how we're all on our own path to learning? We already had our terrier on a raw diet for health reasons…" and, before he could finish his thought, I finished the sentence for him, "…but you know, cats are different!"

 

And we both laughed.

 

We laughed at ourselves and how tied our beliefs could be to the status quo.

 

My own path to learning about diet and health was similarly slow. It came through a beautiful and challenging Dalmatian named Daisy. If you're thinking, "Hmm, that doesn't sound like a cat," you're right, but I firmly believe that the general theme of healthy feeding/healthy pet crosses species. I believe it works for humans, too.

 

Daisy was my first dog. Every day, twice per day, I fed Daisy the same kibble. I did so because I'd been convinced by convention and advertising that it was the right thing to do. The kibble was a premium brand, touting a reputation of goodness and science, complete with minerals and vitamins, sold at veterinarians' offices, advertised on TV, and most important, it was more expensive than other brands! With all of those credentials I figured it had to be good.

 

As Daisy entered midlife, despite regular exercise she started to get heavy and slightly gassy. Her coat felt rough with no puppy softness and she started growing lumps, or fatty tumors. I had one or two of these lumps biopsied because I was so concerned, and one of them was causing a limp. Just as the vet suspected, the tumors were benign. I was surprised at the commonplace acceptance of these lumps from vets and regular folks. I kept hearing, "Old dogs just get those lumps."

 

"Really?" I thought, "Am I going to be lumpy in old age too? What kind of old age inevitability is that?"

 

Thankfully a friend heard me talking about Daisy's less than optimal health and shared her own experience of switching her dog to raw food. She'd already stepped out of the usual box with respect to how she viewed pet nutrition. After going to a raw diet, her purebred dog J.B. rid herself of a chronic skin condition and the side effects of regular steroid shots. And since she'd been eating a healthy raw diet, J.B. was slimmed to the right weight and sported a silky coat. My friend's cats were also beautifully healthy and sleek. It was an inspiring story, but could it work for Daisy?

Because I was ready to try Daisy on new foods anyway, I thought I'd give raw feeding a try. But first, in the spirit of true confession, I must admit to my sad slow learning curve. Unhappily for Daisy, she had to try more kibble along the way.

 

For a time she liked one brand pretty well, but I started noticing a rancid smell when opening new bags of food. It seemed strange, but I didn't think too hard. Poor Daisy would pace around her bowl all growl and fuss, like a child over mushy cold peas. Eventually she'd give up, stick her nose in and eat. So sorry Daisy!