by: Beth Zimmerman, Executive Director, Pets for Patriots

Do you remember the story of Little Red Riding Hood? She went through the forest to her grandmother’s house, leaving a trail of breadcrumbs to mark her path so she could find her way home.

This November, Pets for Patriots had its own fairytale, helping to create a modern day bread crumb trail across the U.S. that we hope leads thousands of shelter pets to their new homes. We inspired Freekibble to donate more than 20,660 bags of nutritious Halo Purely for Pets pet treats and meals to several of our member shelters and a Colorado pet food bank. Sweet!

Perhaps some of those same tasty tidbits will coax a wayward dog out of the North Carolina woods. Earlier we wrote about Davey, a four year-old dog adopted just last week by a Marine and his family. Davey was abused and neglected by his previous owner and, as a result, does not bark, is afraid of people and is noticeably underweight. To boot, he has heartworms and has been without medication for the few days that he’s been lost. In spite of his hard life, he’s a real love muffin (and quite handsome, to boot!)

We don’t know why Davey decided to dart out into the woods. By all accounts, he was getting used to his new family: his tail was untucking, he went on long walks with the veteran and his wife, and was very affectionate with their little girl.

If you or someone you know lives near the Camp Lejeune area, or even has a media contact in that region, we need your help immediately. This family will be very thankful to have Davey home for the holidays – and maybe, just maybe, a trail of Halo treats will do the trick!

Ten years ago I started feeding HALO Spot’s Stew to help Carly avoid the constant nausea she experienced when she ate other commercial foods. Spot’s Stew healthy hypoallergenic recipe helped Carly stop vomiting in just a week or two. The real surprise came when my other two dogs that were also eating Spot’s Stew recovered from constant skin problems and even stopped having mild seizures! These unexpected positive results completely changed the way I practiced veterinary medicine. I realized that food ingredients in our pet’s food play a HUGE role in sickness and health. The wrong ingredients just don’t nourish the body, and allergens like wheat gluten are a common cause of hotspots, itching, ear infections, vomiting, and diarrhea. I found that many of the chronic medical conditions I had struggled with often improved with a change of diet.

I began educating my clients about excess carbohydrates and allergens in the diet, the importance of healthful omega oils, and how important healthy wholesome food like Spot’s Stew can be. We are all learning that if we do not eat a balanced diet composed of whole healthy food; our bodies are at risk for chronic medical conditions. Most major human illnesses are treated with medication and a better diet. Our pets are no different. The more problems a dog may have, the more they will need a moist, healthy hypoallergenic diet to aid in the recovery from them. (In everything they eat: food, treats, and chews!)

Most commercial diets use animal and grain by products to keep costs down and increase profits. Those diets often contain an abundance of cheap carbohydrates, known allergens, and lack enough healthy ingredients to maintain and repair our pet’s bodies. As a result 40% of dogs can’t seem to stop gaining weight or develop common medical problems like hotspots, ear infections, vomiting and diarrhea. The more I counseled clients on what, and what not to feed their pets, the more success I had treating common veterinary problems.

It then occurred to me that 30-40% of the 90 million dogs in the US may have similar problems linked to eating some commercial diets, and that our veterinary schools have not prepared veterinarians to deal with it. In our nutrition classes, medications have a greater role than considering all food ingredients in commercial diets. Veterinary medicine and human medicine use the same costly and sometimes ineffective approach to treating common medical problems that may respond to a better diet.

It soon became impossible for me to ignore the obvious, and not do something about it. I had to talk about my successes dealing with medical issues by using both nutrition and medication. I had to say something! Halo products, my success in using nutrition to treat chronic medical conditions, and the thought of those 30 million fat, inflamed, red, itchy, dogs inspired me to write my book, Dog Dish Diet.

If you want to help your dog recover from any of the common problems listed above, a better diet is the key. Along with a better diet, your dog may also require medication and treatment to “get over the hump”. Combining nutrition and veterinary treatment is often more successful than patching the problem with medication. Symptoms will often decrease in frequency and severity over a few months. Sometimes medical problems disappear forever! Thirty to Sixty days on a Halo wholesome hypoallergenic diet may show you how healthy your pet can be!

A 30 year career and a lifetime dedicated to animals have provided Greg Martinez,DVM (UC, Davis, 1980) the opportunity to observe the steady increase in chronic medical conditions—ailments ranging from dry, itchy skin, hotspots, and red, goopy ears, constant bouts of vomiting and diarrhea, diabetes, mild seizures and an epidemic of overweight pets. He has studied the human and veterinary literature to come up with his perspective of nutrition that has helped thousands of pets in his practice. He wants everyone to be able to give their pets the gift of health. A long-time advocate of Halo Spot’s Stew, Dr. Greg believes anyone can be part of their dog’s health-care team with solid information.

Dr. Greg shares his perspectives on vaccinations, dog treats, how to avoid expensive dental cleanings, home remedies, and homemade dog food recipes, at www.dogdishdiet.com.

While your dog does need an extra layer to keep him warm this winter…make sure it comes from a coat and not a fat layer!

Read my article “Winter Care for your Dog” for keeping your pet at a healthy weight and protecting him from the winter elements this season.

Overwhelming Favorite – Halo, Purely For Pets® – Recognized With More Wins Than Any Other Pet Food Brand

November 18, 2010 – Halo, Purely for Pets®, a leading producer of natural pet care products, proved to be a fan favorite when the results of Tails Magazine’s 2010 Readers’ Choice Awards were announced earlier this month. According to the magazine, tens of thousands of readers voted for their favorite animal-related services and products in 15 cities in the publication’s 10th annual Readers’ Choice awards. Halo won a total 22 titles – more than ANY other pet food brand. In fact, Halo took more than three times as many titles as its nearest competitor.

Consumers in Los Angeles, Washington, DC, and Orlando helped Halo sweep the awards in each city, voting Halo the Winner in the Best Dog Food, Best Cat Food, Best Dog Treat and Best Cat Treat categories. Pet owners in Charlotte and Denver lauded Halo as the Winner in the Best Dog Food, Best Cat Food and Best Cat Treat categories, while fans in Indianapolis and Metro New York/New Jersey showed support for the brand with wins in the Best Cat Food category.

Dr. Greg Martinez, author of The Dog Dish Diet, states “Halo’s healthy way of feeding our pets was the inspiration for my book. We are all learning that if we do not eat a balanced diet composed of whole healthy food, our bodies are at risk for chronic medical conditions. Our pets are no different. The word must be getting out!”

“The good folks who picked Halo as their favorite recognized that slick advertising from big companies means nothing,” said Tracie Hotchner, award-winning radio host and author of The Dog Bible and of The Cat Bible. “Halo concentrates their efforts on philanthropy with Freekibble and dedicates the company’s resources to optimal pet health, using only quality ingredients in their foods – which is why my own dogs eat only Halo Spot’s Stew kibble.”

Halo co-owner Ellen DeGeneres, who has appeared on the cover of Tails Magazine twice, “voted” for Halo as the choice for her pets, and was so pleased she decided to become a part owner of the company, An award-winning animal advocate, Ellen says, “Halo is the best – just read the ingredients!”

Halo, Purely For Pets® uses wholesome, natural, quality ingredients and only real meats in all of their pet food as they believe nutrition is the single most important factor in the quality of a pet’s life. Halo is the only pet food honored with the National Canine Cancer Foundation Seal of Excellence, and the only leading brand with just fresh meat, no chicken meal or other rendered meats. Recently, Halo supported the United States Postal Service campaign to promote its 2010 social awareness stamp “Animal Rescue: Adopt a Shelter Pet” to raise awareness of pet adoption. In conjunction with this campaign, Halo, Purely For Pets® made a commitment to donate 1 million meals of Halo’s Spot’s Stew in 2010 to shelter pets awaiting adoption. Halo partnered with Freekibble.com and Freekibblekat.com to donate the 1 million meals. More recently Halo became Freekibble’s exclusive pet food sponsor, continuing the commitment to feeding hungry shelter pets across the country.

Howdini.com has a few videos up with me demonstrating some dog-related tips. Recently they contacted me and said they had received a troubling question from one of their viewers and wanted my help in constructing a response. This viewer was having problems training a young puppy and was considering beating the pup as an alternative.

When puppies pee or poo in the house when they are very young the fault is 100% that of the people — because the puppy needs a person to manage his bowel habits in the first months of life.

Click over to my original blog on “Howdini Viewer with a Disturbing Question” for the whole story!

You can see the video of me demonstrating “How To House-Train A Puppy” here in my previous Halo blog post.

Tracie Hotchner, author of The Dog Bible and The Cat Bible, guest blogs here every Thursday on healthy, natural choices for pets.

My father and I were signing copies of our book “Walking Wisdom” after a speech at USC on October 6th in Los Angeles. Imagine for a moment what it’s like to be Deepak Chopra’s son.

I’m lounging around with Dad; we’re supposed to be having a conversation, some everyday give-and-take; we’re supposed to be talking about DOGS, as a matter of fact. But then somebody asks my father yet another Big Question – so, Deepak, what really should we know about human consciousness?

Click over to read the entire article “Relative contrast: ‘Walking Wisdom’ co-authors Gotham Chopra, Deepak different as son and dad”.

Watch this video of me with my Dad.

Gotham Chopra is a multi-media voice on issues of spirituality, culture, and news. His new book Walking Wisdom (October 2010, Hyperion) celebrates the lessons learned from his famous father, and soon-to-be-famous family dogs (who eat Halo Spot’s Stew!). A portion of the proceeds from the book support Freekibble.com. Gotham will be a guest blogger here on Wednesdays.