For the Dogs

Affrey is, in my mind, the best dog in whole world. She's smart, cuddly and incredibly cute, but she is not without her fair share of problems (aren't we all?).

For the past 5 of her 7 years, Affrey has suffered with chronic ear infection. We've been to see the finest vet dermatologist money can buy at CSU and she's been doused and shot up with every sort of concoction you can image ... and yet, she continues to suffer with itchy, smelly ear issues. In the last two months, the infection had gotten so bad, it started to impact a nerve in her neck that has her eye completely swollen over. Our new vet recommended Affrey get a deep cleaning on her ears to remove all the yeast and goo, so we could start a fresh at tackling her allergy problems.

So, last Wednesday, Affrey went under for her ear surgery. She came through it just fine and we celebrated her freshly cleaned pink ears with a designer dog bed from DogZooks. Now we start on the precarious road to what we hope will be long-term relief from her ear infections.
When Affrey was 2 yrs. old we went through the whole food allergy testing, trying strange dog chow like Venison and Potato or Duck and Sweet Potato. The vets at CSU determined Affrey was allergic to mold and various other Colorado allergens, but not common pet food. We were cleared to go back to the classic Iams formula, which she has been eating for the past 5 years (what an exciting life she has).

It wasn't until recently, when I started swapping dog allergy stories with co-workers, that I started to think Affrey's ear problems could be a result of her diet - not just the environmental factors. Several of my cube mates have dogs who have been diagnosed with yeast infection in the ears (just like Affrey), and have been going through a series of non-productive topical treatments (just like Affrey), when they started reading about the health implications of the preservatives and additives used in conventional dog food.

It turns out - most dogs with allergy issues are having a reaction to the added crap in dog food, not the protein source. One woman I work with said her Jack Russel's yeasty ears cleaned up within a month of switching to all-natural dog food, and the people at Pet Promise pet food have a thousand similar stories they've shared with me (although my office mate's experience holds considerably more weight with me at this point).

Newman's Own also makes an organic dog food, which looks kind of interesting. Their formula feature probiotics and Ester-C, as well as parsley to help with "doggie breath."

So, along with the rest of the Angelo family, Affrey is going organic, too. We've made the switch to Pet Promise Weight Management food and I'm hoping the combination of the newly cleaned ears and the clean, all-natural food will be Affrey's opportunity to live a happy life, free of head-shaking and ear scratching.

Pet Promise's food is about as clean as it can get for pets. According to their website Pet Promise promises that:

Our ranchers never feed their animals antibiotics or added growth hormones, and we refuse to use rendered fats, chicken meal, meat meal or byproducts in our foods. This insures that the ingredients you are feeding your pets are pure and beyond natural.

Sure, it's a little bit more expensive - $22 for a 16 lb. bag (I think Iams is $16 for 20 lbs.) but I think it's worth a try. Affrey is part of our family and she deserves to have food that is healthful for her and the earth.

We're all living here together, after all.