Can dog's do well on a wholly plant based diet? In this endearing story, read on to know how a dog experienced miraculous recovery from tic fever, enlarged spleen and liver and is now thriving with a whole food plant based diet.

Ronnie

Mixed breed Cocker Spaniel

9 years, Mumbai.

(Story of Ronnie as narrated by his human companion Dr . Rashmi Menon)

This is the story of my dog Ronnie, a mixed breed Cocker Spaniel.  9 years ago, Ronnie came into our lives as a 2 month old puppy, gifted to us by son’s friends on his 10th birthday.

Being an animal lover, I was happy, but still skeptical about bringing him up in an apartment. But I knew my son was lonely and needed a companion. So, although it was a selfish reason, we opened our home and hearts to Ronnie.

He has his own mind

In those days, there was not much variety of dog food available and the vet asked me to give him Farex. He never liked it and was always inclined to eat the normal cooked food which we were having. Since I was a vegan, I would not make any non veg at home. A friend used to get some cooked chicken for him and I would freeze it and try to feed it to him. Since he didn’t show much inclination to eat it, and I too not being comfortable with the situation, we stopped it.

The health scare

When Ronnie was 2 ½ years, he fell sick with tic fever. He was treated with antibiotics and he completely stopped eating. He was even hospitalized for 15 days. The medicines had made him very weak. I took him to another vet who did some tests and said that his liver and spleen were enlarged and suspected that he may have cancer.

I knew how to treat cancer and I was confident of being a companion in his healing. I didn’t allow the vets to take a biopsy or MRI since I didn't want more interference with his system. His platelet count had come down so I used to give him papaya leaf juice (mixed in a little bit of kaju katli!) I also sought help from two plant based doctors Dr Saravanan and Dr Rupa Shah for his treatment. Dr Saravanan prescribed Bach flower remedies and Dr Rupa prescribed homeopathic medicines. Within a week, I noticed that his appetite was back and he was feeling much better though not completely normal. I kept feeding him home prepared whole plant based foods as and when he could eat. He kept getting better and kept regaining his lost strength. He was on the path to recovery.

Subsequently, I took him to another famous vet in Mumbai who checked him and said that Ronnie’s blood tests were all completely normal. Considering how he was 6 months back, he called it a miracle. He was only given medicines for the tic infection and nothing else. Very soon Ronnie became completely normal. However, even now his skin gets inflamed when tics bite him but I am able to handle the condition naturally with Aloe Vera.

Eating and living by instinct

Ronnie is part of our family, he likes to eat along with us. I give him a choice of different kinds of plant based food. I serve him food in 3 bowls – 1 bowl of commercial vegan dog food like Benovo or Ami, another bowl of our regular food like khichdi with lot of steamed veggies and a little grain and third bowl of finely chopped veggies with extra plant protein in the form of dals and sprouts with finely chopped veggies. He prefers to eat the home food more than the commercial dog food.

He loves sweet fruits like elaichi bananas which is his everyday staple, mangoes when in season, melons and papayas, when he is in the mood. He also loves to eat raw veggies like zucchini, green peas, carrots, pumpkin and also lightly cooked veggies like steamed beans or baked sweet potatoes.

He gets his protein requirements met from dals, sprouts and minced vegetables. For additional fats, I give him roasted and powdered flax seeds. When serving his food, I add some desiccated coconut powder or occasionally 1 or 2 tsp of cashew butter and he loves it. I make his favourite dog biscuits which is made from a mix of dates, cacao and barley.

For tics, I make methi laddoo – It is made of roasted methi, desiccated coconut powder, a mix of seeds like pumpkin, sesame, dates and a little bit of saunf. Served as small sized laddoos, he really loves it and it’s great as the smell of methi naturally repels tics.

I have noticed that instinctively by smelling he is drawn to food which is slightly fermented. He has the freedom to eat what he wants and when he wants as per his liking.

Both of us enjoy the outdoors, he spends time by playing on the grass and lying on the ground in sunshine when it’s not too hot. I let him lead us where he wants to go and what he wants to do.

Thriving on plant based food

Once a year, I take him for a blood test, though, I do rely on my instincts and his activity levels, his shiny coat etc to judge how he is doing. His blood results show that he is doing well. He can easily climb up 10 storeys to our apartment. Many other people in my apartment had breed dogs and they have all since passed away. I would attribute his health and longevity to the fact that Ronnie is eating healthier food and that he is not a breed dog.

Only recently he developed hypothyroidism. My research has let me to understand that as he has no reproductive organs (no gonads) due to neutering, it has led to problems with the thyroid. This was an action I had taken when I didn’t know any better. Now I always advise people to sterilize their companion animals rather than neuter.

Leading a compassionate lifestyle

Since dogs are omnivorous they can do very well on a healthy plant based diet. They don’t necessarily need non-vegetarian food. The pet food industry uses a lot of byproduct wastes from the animal food industry. They have so many added preservatives, colours and flavoring. Though I do buy commercial vegan dog food, I try to source organic and give it as less as possible. Our companion animals can join us in leading a compassionate lifestyle.

(About Dr Rashmi Menon: Dr. Rashmi Menon is a physician who heals without medicines, helping her patients reverse their lifestyle diseases including diabetes and cancer. She is specialized in Homoeopathy, Psychotherapy, Clinical Hypnotherapy and whole food plant based nutrition. Her teachings come from personal experience having reversed osteoporosis, asthma and endometriosis and lost 18kgs. You can find her on Facebook at Dr. Rashmi, The Sentient Foodie, The Ray Of Happiness and on Instagram at doctorshealthsecrets)