Celebrating Eight Years of “Beautifulness”

Natural, cooked pet food that you can find at your local supermarket.

I remember the day I brought Chip home. After months of talks about the pros and cons of owning a dog, I finally wore my husband down into adopting a furbaby. Chip came home with me on Memorial Day weekend in 2010. He was 13 weeks old, and his foster family gave me a note with “puppy’s” birthday: February 24, 2010. When he refused the kibble they sent him home with, I made him all natural dog food at home from scratch. Little did I know that this habit would set the precedent for feasts on birthdays and other special occasions.

To say our dogs are spoiled is an understatement. They have dozens of nicknames, especially Chip. I frequently call him my Beautifulness, Deliciousness, Mr. Fickles, and Choopie Choop among many other endearing terms. He’s spoiled rotten and I wouldn’t have it any other way! I mean, why else would a dog need a harness with a bow tie?

Daisy is our little tomboy and does not put up with any bows in her hair. Short hair, don’t care. You can find her in our sitting room’s armchair, ready to fend off the stray bird or our UPS man with her intimidating little yaps. She’s an adorable little ferocious beast, always ready to play rough, but immediately turns on her charm with docile looks for TREATS.

When I’m feeling in a super spoiling mood, I cook an all-natural meal for them, usually on their birthdays, holidays, or after their biannual comprehensive vet exam. This past week marked Chip’s 8th birthday, and since it’s roughly his 56th birthday in dog years, I knew this “golden year” warranted something extra special. I decided to pack a picnic (including “Meow Champain”) to celebrate our boy’s milestone at his favorite place: the beach!

With our kitchen out of commission for the past two months, this #dogmom decided she needed to find an easier way to pamper him without skimping out on the home-cooked quality and taste. When Freshpet asked if Chip and Daisy would be willing to try their food, the first thing I did as a concerned pet parent was go to their website to look at the ingredients. I never purchase food or treats for them without looking at the ingredient list! I have seen Freshpet food in specially dedicated refrigerators in the pet food aisle at supermarkets and was always curious about the quality.

My first stop was their product selector page. They have a personal approach to helping you select the best food for your pet. You enter their name, breed, preferences and also select from a list of health concerns and ingredients you don’t want in their food. There’s even an option for finicky eaters. When I saw the ingredients of the results I was blown away.

I ONLY purchase pet food that has at least 3 to 4 named meats in the very beginning of their ingredients. All three foods from the Freshpet product selector results (Vital® Grain Free Chicken, Beef, Salmon & Egg Dog Food Recipe, Vital® Grain Free Beef & Bison Dog Food Recipe with Spinach, Cranberries & Blueberries, and Vital® Chicken, Beef, Salmon & Egg With Cranberries & Spinach Dog Food Recipe) named high-quality animal protein ingredients at the very beginning of their ingredient list. THIS is what I want to see in quality pet foods!

For birthday and holiday meals I am a little more lax about meat to veggie ratios, because we all need to live a little, know what I’m saying? These babies got to try the Freshpet® Select Fresh From the Kitchen™ Home Cooked Chicken Recipe for Chip’s birthday. Chicken and rice is what I typically make for them from scratch, and I’ll usually throw in frozen peas and carrots for good measure. This meal did not disappoint. True to the label on the packaging, this all natural pet food was chockfull of REAL shredded chicken, cranberries and veggies.

The amount of chicken in this bag rivaled any container of chicken salad I’ve bought from any supermarket, and that’s pretty impressive. As soon as I opened the bag, I had Chip and Daisy’s undivided attention. We had lots of practice with our verbal and physical cues for “sit” during this time! Haha.

Setting down their travel bowls was like watching a horse race go off. They could not inhale the food fast enough! SCORE!

They didn’t seem to care too much about their Meow Champagne squeaker toy, haha. (Let’s be honest…this was more for my benefit than it was for them!)

As a dog mom, I am happy that I don’t have to worry about any additives or preservatives with Freshpet. You store the food in the fridge, and it’s a very convenient option for when you have circumstances like our kitchen situation. But what I like the most about Freshpet is that there are NO pre-processed meat powders, “chicken meals,” or by-products. Those are deal breakers for me. Freshpet is made with real US farm raised meat as the #1 ingredient, with real veggies you can see.

From one pet parent to the other, I recommend giving Freshpet a try. Chip and Daisy clearly love it, and I am at peace knowing that they are eating real food I can trust. Find Freshpet near you.

As for us, we will continue spoiling our beautiful boy with hugs and kisses and belly rubs despite his annoyance at all the attention. We will also take as many trips to the beach as his little dachshund/maltese/chihuahua legs can handle.

Happy Birthday, our Beautifulness! We love you so very much, you deliciously grumpy old man! <3

Do you treat your dog on their birthday?

photography by DKreate Photography