WORDS, WOOFS & MEOWS

by Don Hanson ACCBC, BFRAP, CDBC, CPDT-KA

to breeders, veterinarians, and pet stores telling you what to feed your is biased, especially if they only recommend a single brand or type of pet food. Instead, I encourage you to read books and articles and avoid listening to TV commercials and social media. Lastly, you need to be committed to continuing your education, as the world of pet food is constantly changing and not always for the better. My wife and I have done that, but it is timeconsuming and challenging work, so I have an alternative for you to consider.

Step 1b – Find someone you can trust to do your research for you. I get it; you may not have the time to research as I do. If that is the case, find one or more people you can trust. Here is what you should look for:

• someone who recommends more than one brand, formula, and type of pet food. If anyone suggests that you should never change your pet's food, understand that what he is saying only benefits the company making and selling the food. For example, would you follow the advice if your doctor told you only to eat XYZ cereal or drink ABC complete nutrition shakes? Of course not; you’re smarter than that. No single brand of food is the best for all pets, even if a veterinarian recommends it. My dog and cat are fed various brands, proteins, and food types to optimize their diet. [ FMI –Don, What Do You Feed Your

Dog? – https://forcefreepets. com/?p=3169 & The Benefits of Rotating Your Pets Diet –https://forcefreepets.com/ ?p=3171 ]

• someone who understands that fresh whole foods benefit your pet. We all know that fresh foods like fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, eggs, and dairy are healthier than the ultra-processed food in the supermarket's middle aisles. We might like mac and cheese from a box because it’s cheap and convenient, but it’s not a healthy choice. The same is true for our pets. While they cannot eat all the fresh foods we do, they can eat many. Fresh food contains natural vitamins, minerals, and micronutrients that are healthier than the chemically synthesized vitamins added to most commercial pet food. This is a partial list of some of the fresh foods I have fed my dog in the past year, beef, bison, chicken, pork, rabbit, salmon, trout, turkey, venison, whitefish, apples, blueberries, carrots, kale, pumpkin, and pineapple. I also often added moisture, such as bone broth or goat's milk, as kibble, dehydrated, and freeze-dried foods do not contain adequate water. [ FMI – Our Pets Most Important Nutrient – Water –https://forcefreepets.com/ ?p=3173 ]

In future columns, I’ll describe how pet foods are regulated, what to look for on the package, what to look out for, and more.

Don Hanson lives in Bangor, Maine, where he isthe co-owner of the Green Acres Kennel Shop (greenacreskennel.com) and the founder of ForceFreePets.com, an online educational resource for people with dogs and cats. He is a Professional Canine Behavior Consultant (PCBC-A) accredited by the Pet Professional Accreditation Board (PPAB)and a Bach Foundation Registered Animal Practitioner (BFRAP). Don is a member of thePet Professional Guild (PPG), where he serves on the Board of Directors and Steering Committee and chairs the Advocacy Committee. He is also a founding director of Pet Advocacy International (PIAI). In addition, Don produces and co-hosts The Woof Meow Showpodcast,available at http://bit.ly/WfMwPodcasts/,the Apple Podcast app, and Don's blog: www.words-woofs-meows.com.The opinions in this post are those of Don Hanson.

By Susan Spisak

Augusta’s Kennebec Valley Humane Society, KVHS, began in 1927 by Miss Mabel Connor. With the help of others, they established the Augusta Humane Society, which then became KVHS. By 1961, the society was able to build a facility for animals on Pet Haven Lane. The original building was named in honor of Miss Connor, and later the