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Our first family pet was Shakespeare, the yellow lab. We (Andrea and Eric) adopted Shakespeare when we first met, back in our college days. Shakespeare was a loyal friend for 14 years and a loving older "brother" to our baby girl. Shakespeare had the ideal temperament, always gentle, kind and willing to comply with our wishes. He was intuitive. And, he was also a great retriever! He could play fetch for hours.
Unfortunately, Shakespeare was not a pedigreed dog. We were naive to the concept of pedigrees and why a dog should have one. He was most likely bred for profit and not for the ideals of maintaining a healthy breed. As a result, Shakespeare suffered from hip dysplasia and skin allergies. We blame the hip dysplasia on his breeding and the allergies on diet.
It was in our search to understand Shakespeare's skin problems that we learned skin problems are most commonly associated with food allergies; dogs are not meant to eat corn or wheat...two things that are plentiful in common pet food.
We enjoy researching and learning about human health and diet, as well as about animals in nature. It made sense that a carnivore, like a dog, should be eating meat. In Shakespeare's last years we began to use the Raw Meat diet, and continued to research canine health and natural diets. We noticed an immediate change in Shakespeare's energy level when we changed to raw meat. He was "young again" for a few years, until the hip dysplasia caused him to slow down once again...
We love Shakespeare, and will always treasure our time we had with our Yellow Lab...
Dogs' lives are too short. Their only fault, really.
Agnes Sligh Turnbull
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