SEATTLE - Gary Tashjian selected his ingredients carefully.
Free-range chicken for protein. Organic vegetables like kale andyams, for nutrients and fiber. He slaved over a Cuisinart composingthe 'raw food' recipe, adhering to current health food trends thatunprocessed, uncooked foods provide the best nutrition.
And Sheba the German Shepherd-rottweiler appreciated every rawbite, wolfing down her breakfast practically before the bowl hit thefloor, and wistfully licking its stainless steel bottom when the lastscraps were gone.
Tashjian formally kicked off his home delivery 'raw food' dog foodbusiness last week, giving away 300 pounds of free samples at theSeattle Kennel Club's show. He's already driving an initial deliveryroute for around two dozen canine clients, shepherding Styrofoam-lined boxes of frozen food to the dogs' front doors like the milkmenof old dropped off their clinking bottles.
'They love it,' said client Patti Lucas, who began purchasingTashjian's 'Darwin's Natural Pet Products' brand for her labradors,Millie and Max, after deciding that preparing the raw food on her owntook too much time.
'I think the more that people learn about it, and realize thebenefit from it, it will grow.'
Tashjian, former vice president of marketing for SeattleFilmworks, isn't the first person to shift the human health-foodmovement of 'raw food' over to the canine world. Raw food enthusiastsbelieve that cooking food above 115 degrees destroys valuableenzymes, and that it's healthiest to eat food that's prepared asclose as possible to its natural state.
Among humans, interest in raw food is increasing fast, withcookbooks and restaurants devoted to the cause.
And among house pets, the use of a 'raw food' diet is growing soquickly that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is scrambling toissue industry guidelines to govern its use. While most human rawfood fans are vegetarians, the animal food generally includes meat,and the government worries about potential bacterial contamination.The American Veterinary Medical Association has issued no formalguidelines on raw food's use, although it's a hot topic among bothvets and owners, with debates raging about whether the diet causeshealth benefits or risks.
To Tashjian, owner of Sheba and two woolly sheepdogs named Honeyand Blue, the benefits were so clear that he turned his dog's dietsfrom a personal passion to a start-up business.
He said he was introduced to the idea several years ago, when hisbeloved and aging dog Max was crippled by arthritis. Conventionalmedicine did nothing to help, he said, and he was told to tryacupuncture from a holistic vet.
It sounded 'a little woo-woo' to Tashjian. Alternative medicinewas far from his usual route, he said, but he didn't want to let hisown biases stand in the way of Max's health. In the end, instead ofacupuncture, the vet recommended raw food.
Max was cured. Tashjian was 'astounded.'
'I won't say he was like a puppy, but he was joyful again,' hesaid.
Tashjian, whose pets enjoy heated blankets and a waist-high dogdoor, is himself a prime example of the converging trends that makehim sure his new venture will flourish.
Nationwide, more people are starting to consider their dogs asfamily members rather than pets, giving them child-type benefits likedoggie day care and health insurance. Then, more people are realizingthat processed foods aren't healthy for human bodies, and aretransferring their food theories over to the animal world. At thesame time, people have less and less time to prepare nutritioushomemade food.
In Seattle, more than most places, 'people love their dogs, andpeople want the best for their dogs,' said client Lucas.
Tashjian has a production facility making 500 pounds per week ofhis recipe and packing it in vacuum-sealed bags. He thinks he's founda sizeable niche for his product with the home delivery service,which he said keeps his prices lower than competitors while providingmore convenience. The food runs about $2.50 per pound - more thantwice the price of some kibbles, though half the price of some otherpackaged homemade brands.
The raw food diet 'is not for everyone,' warns Mercer Islandveterinarian Jacqueline Obando, one of the experts Tashjian consultedon his business. She highly recommends it for specific patients,though, and has seen 'just amazing' results for conditions like itchyskin and arthritis.
'They thrive, and it's pretty dramatic.'
An early draft of the FDA's raw food guidelines warns about properhandling of raw meat and recommends using only meat that is approvedfor human consumption, among other concerns.
Veterinarian Obando said that dogs with some specific medicalproblems should avoid the raw meat. And there are cases where thedogs might benefit but she still recommends against it, because thehome has other issues that conflict with raw meat - such as toddlerswho might put their hands in the dog bowl.
Another common concern with the diet is that the dogs will chokeor risk internal injuries from swallowing bone fragments; Tashjiansaid he addresses this by grinding the bone until it is no largerthan fingernail clippings.
Tashjian is hardly a hard-core health person himself, he says. Hedoesn't eat as well as his dogs do. But he also doesn't think he'snecessarily promoting health food, or even gourmet food.
'If you stand outside a PCC (Natural Markets) and look at theircustomers, they're not all wealthy,' he said. They just understandthe importance of good nutrition, and are willing to spend a largerpercentage of their income on it.
'That's my customer.'
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