​It’s with a heavy heart that I had to say good-bye to Sena, my “baby girl”, this week. Sena was almost 14 ½ years old, and I gave her the best life I possibly could.
 
I have always been a “dog” person, having grown up with dogs and been around dogs most of my life. One of the few periods in my life without dogs was during most of my time in graduate school, and then during my post-doctoral fellowship, only because I had to spend most of my time in the lab running experiments at all hours during those years, and it wouldn’t have been fair to a dog.
 
One particular Friday night, within about a year of settling into a permanent job for a well-known pharmaceutical company and buying my first house in San Diego near Balboa Park, I decided it was time to get a dog. I began to look online, and the possibilities were endless. I felt a little overwhelmed, and backed off.
 
Two days later, on Sunday morning, a friend came over to my house and we walked to my favorite funky little neighborhood hole-in-the-wall restaurant to enjoy a leisurely breakfast. There was a short wait out in front and a small crowd was clustered around a bench. At the center of the small crowd was a puppy. An extremely cute puppy. And as it turned out, the person at the other end of the leash was hoping to find a good home for that cute puppy.
 
I couldn’t take my eyes off of her. She was soooo cute, a tiny little puppy with black fur and great big ears! But all puppies are cute. They called my name – our table was ready. I told the person on the other end of the leash that if the puppy is still here when I finish breakfast, I will take her home with me.

​And Sena waited for me.
 
I took my new little puppy home. I knew before I had her that I would name her Sena. At the time I took Sena home, she was about 3 months old. I was told that she had been rescued from a shelter after being picked up as a stray on the docks around San Diego Bay.

Sena was an easy puppy and a great dog! I took her with me everywhere I could. We had underground parking at work, so I often brought her with me and left her to sleep on her bed in the back of my Explorer, where it was nice and cool. There were walking trails along the mesa where I worked, so I took her on walks several times between her naps. It was great for both of us!
 
Sena always loved hot sauce and veggies, a dog after my own heart! So after I became plant-based, she had no trouble adopting a plant-based diet. In fact, she loved plant-based foods so much that she would hover in the kitchen anytime I was cutting or peeling any fruit or veggies, making sure she didn’t miss out on anything.
 
I called her my “green smoothie girl”, because there was no way I could make a green smoothie without having to share some with her! (video).
 
By the end, Sena was in a lot of pain. She lost the use of her back legs and could barely hold her weight up. We even tried acupuncture, which seemed to help a little.

​We carried her out to the back yard several times every day so she could do her business. Over time, working with my vet, I had to maximize the dosage of her pain medications, and even that was not enough to bring her relief or comfort. It reached the point where the only way to calm her was to sedate her. And at 14 ½ with all the degeneration, she was never going to get better. That’s when I realized that it was time.
 
I arranged to have my vet come to my house, and I’m so glad that I did. Sena was peacefully resting on her bed. I did not have to put her through an uncomfortable ride to a place she didn’t like to go to, only to end her life there. Instead she was comfortably surrounded by us and her canine siblings Kona and Luna. Sena had a very peaceful transition. She was deeply loved and had a wonderful life. And we miss her so.

Doesn't this look too good to be for the dogs?

As you know from an earlier post, my dogs are vegan and I feed them V-dog kibble. I usually order 30-lb bags, 2 at a time, direct from the V-dog website because none of my local pet stores carry V-dog kibble. Well, we had a dilemma when I tried to place my last order toward the end of December. V-dog was completely out of stock and not expecting a shipment until mid- to late-January. I had enough to last only about 2 weeks!

In order to keep my girls vegan and healthy, I created a recipe using ingredients that I know are safe for dogs and also provide a balance of protein, carbohydrate, fat, and antioxidants. You may be surprised to find that this recipe includes coconut oil, which also has benefits for pets. 

This plant-based dog food so good that you can eat it too! My dogs LOVE this!!! 

Ingredients:

• 3 large sweet potatoes or yams (or 5 small), washed and pierced several times with a fork
  
• 1 cup brown rice, rinsed
  
• 2 cups water
  
• 2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
  
• 2 large carrots, diced
  
• ½ bunch kale, torn into bite-size pieces, including the stems
  
• ½ cup coconut oil (start with 2 tablespoons and increase to ½ cup over a period of about  3-4 weeks)
  

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 °F
   
2. Place the sweet potatoes or yams on a baking sheet. 
   
3. Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake until the sweet potatoes or yams are tender when pierced with a fork, about 30-45 minutes (for a softer consistency that will mash easily, leave in for about 60 minutes).
   
4. While the potatoes are baking, combine the brown rice and water in a large sauce pan and bring to a boil.
   
5. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered for until the rice is tender and the water is all absorbed, about 40-45 minutes.
   
6. After 20-30 minutes, quickly add the carrots and kale to the rice and cover for the remaining cooking time. 
   
7. When the potatoes are done baking, remove from the oven and dice the flesh and skin (or mash the flesh).
   
8. Combine the rice and veggie mixture, along with the black beans, potatoes, and coconut oil in a large bowl and stir to mix well.
   
9. Serve while warm and fresh or store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to one week.
   

Makes ~8 1-cup servings. Use your dry food serving size as a guide for how much to feed your pooch. I give my 60-65 lb girls a 1-cup serving twice daily.

Meet Luna, the newest member of our family. I rescued Luna from a highway in the high desert last summer, where I found her dodging in and out of traffic with no form of identification whatsoever, including no collar, no tags, and no microchip. 

Already having two dogs, Sena and Kona, my original intention was to foster Luna until I could find her a good home. Showing clear signs of mistreatment and/or abandonment made it imperative to find the right match for her needs. 

Meanwhile, she immediately became attached to me and also to Kona. I finally realized that the right match for her is right here with us. So Luna is officially a part of our family and is thriving on lots of love, care, and vegan dog food!

No, I’m not referring to vegan hot dogs. Yes, my dogs are vegan. Or to put it a better way, my dogs are plant-based.

Last weekend as Kona raced around our campsite, running circles around and tiring out one of her younger playmates, a friend walked up and commented as she watched Kona run full speed, lap after lap:

“Now there’s a great testimonial for a vegan diet for dogs!”

Last October I switched both of my dogs over to V-Dog, a plant-based dry dog food. In addition, I continue to add chopped up fresh veggies and brown rice to their meals, and I always share my green smoothie with Sena (Kona hasn’t taken to the green smoothies). I also sometimes slip a little tofu into their meals as well. And they are both thriving!

The main reason I switched my dogs away from animal-based dog food is the same reason that I stopped eating animal-based food myself. Namely that the science shows over and over again in thousands of peer-reviewed publications that plant-based foods promote excellent health and prevent diseases, while animal-based foods promote poor health.

I know from working in the pharmaceutical industry that efficacy in dogs is tested after efficacy in mice or rats is achieved and often indicates likely efficacy in humans, meaning that if an intended result is achieved in mice or rats, and then in dogs, it will also likely be achieved in humans.

Numerous results indicating efficacy of a plant-based diet for promoting excellent health and preventing chronic degenerative diseases in both mice and humans have been published in the peer-reviewed scientific literature. So I hypothesized that dogs should experience similar healthful benefits on a plant-based diet. And while my study population is only two dogs (N=2), I’m happy to report that both of my dogs are full of life and energy for their ages (Sena is 12 and Kona is 5), their coats look like they were just bathed, and so far, two veterinarians have commented on how healthy they both are.

V-Dog derives its protein from peas, lentils, and potato protein, and is loaded with whole plant-based ingredients, including grains (oats, sorghum, quinoa, millet, alfalfa), nuts and seeds (peanuts, sunflower seeds, flax seeds), veggies (carrots, celery, beets, parsley, lettuce, watercress, spinach), and fruit (dried cranberries and blueberries, both powerful antioxidants), along with supplements formulated for pets (V-Dog is available in some pet stores or at www.v-dog.com)..

I couldn’t be happier with my decision to feed my fur-babies exclusively plant-based foods, just as I do for myself, so that I can have them around and healthy for as long as possible!

Sena is my green smoothie girl! She loves green smoothies and all fruit and veggies so much so that I can't pull out a fruit or veggie without her appearing in anticipation of getting it as a treat! The green smoothie she's drinking in this video has spinach, kale, cucumber, celery, jalapeno, avocado, ginger, lime, and apple plus coconut milk and flaxseeds.

Kona's intention for the New Year: plenty of exercise, fun and dog parks!

What's your intention?

Sena and Kona both have the perfect temperament to be around anybody, including babies, toddlers, children of all ages, adolescents, adults, and seniors. They are a pleasure to take anywhere because they are very gentle, tolerant, good-natured, and well-behaved, and everyone loves them! Which is why I love bringing them to visit my 96-year old Grandmother and the other senior Residents at the Board and Care facility where they live. While some of the Residents are immobile and can no longer communicate, they light up with a huge smile when they pet the dogs! 

Kona even likes to check in on some of the residents in their bedrooms if they're not in the main sitting area. Here's Kona licking my Grandmother's hand. It's wonderful to see the natural connection between the seniors and the dogs!

Typical breakfast of vegetables and kibble (Blue) for Sena and Kona.

Sena is 10 years old and is a female German shepherd and cattle dog mix. Sena loves to eat. Fortunately, she also loves fruits and vegetables! Like many humans, Sena fell into the trap of eating too much of the wrong kinds of foods (doggie treats in her case) and became obese. Increasing her intake of fresh vegetables and eliminating unhealthy, high-fat dog treats helped Sena to drop 21 lbs and maintain her healthy weight and beautiful coat. Sena now has lots of energy, is playful again, and loves to walk and hike.

Kona is four years old and is a female German shepherd and beagle mix. She has a ton of energy and loves to play and run. In fact, Kona trains with me for the Susan G. Komen 3-Day Walks - she's done many 16-18 mile walks with me, and she always makes me carry her water. Kona has not taken to vegetables the way that Sena has, so I chop hers up and mix it in with her dry food to get her to eat them.