The Raw Deal Or, Fortunately, Our Neighbor’s Brother Was a Butcher

So when we got a shipment of raw meat for the dogs, our neighbor loaned us his cleaver. Robert set up shop in the driveway: a butcher block balanced on his table saw, surrounded by a couple stacks of card board boxes with icy frozen meat; a scale for weighing portions and an assembly line area where 2 anchovies and a glucosamine tablet were added to each portion. Zip-locked and tossed into the freezer, a lean cuisine for pups ready to go.

First Sue came by as we were unpacking the cardboard boxes from the truck. She told us about her brother-in-law and then reappeared moments later with his cleaver. We were grateful; ours was child-locked in comparison. This tool was hefty, allowing the weight of the knife to gain momentum as it’s swung, and slice quickly and easily through semi-frozen chicken carcasses. Sue, a retired nurse, seemed unfazed by the boxes of chicken backs, necks, and frozen whole mackerel. Even the bag of tracheas (for treats!) didn’t cause an eye to bat. She jumped right in and started bagging the meat with me as Robert chopped.

Another neighbor’s two kids stopped by on their bikes. Their mom asked what we were doing and we demonstrated, featuring each step and describing the nutritional value of feeding our animals raw. Their coats are glossy; their digestive tracks are designed for raw meat, not rice products, etc. Soon, we had the nimble fingers of a 5 and 7-year old adding the anchovies and glucosamine tablets. They took direction and asked for no pay!

So if you want your dogs to grow up big and strong—on a diet their systems are designed for—consider feeding them raw meat, or a dry food with similar content. Purchased in bulk, it's actually less expensive than kibble. While feeding our dogs raw is not something we hold to all year long—we feed kibble from Evo at times when we haven’t had time to set up shop like this—it does seem to be better for them. And when you’ve got a village and a real butcher’s cleaver to help make it happen, all the better.

Check out Evo for great kibble (yes, nutritious AND delicious!): http://www.evopet.com/
and good pre-packaged raw food: www.omaspride.com/