Our shar pei Effie Trinket turned two in August! She is beautiful and cuddly, even if it occasionally looks as if she and friends are plotting a freeze-dried liver heist.
Back in the spring, she was getting a lot of shar pei fever episodes (like, weekly) and we couldn't figure out why. We thought it might have to do with her food, so we were thinking of switching to raw, but we took her to the vet just to see if there was anything else wrong. There wasn't, but when we told the vet that we were thinking about switching to raw, he said "Oh, well, if you're thinking of switching diets anyway, you should try a plant-based diet!"
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA yes, that's right. The vet suggested we feed the dog vegan.
I love this vet and he really cares about his patients, so we heard him out and took home an information sheet about turning your dog vegan. And Effie had been so sick for so long, and we were so worried about her, so we spent a lot of time researching and considering it as an option.
I bought some lentils. And some millet. And I read a lot of recipes and online accounts of people who'd switched their dogs to a vegan diet and how well it worked for them. And I talked about it endlessly with Katr, who, to her credit, did not murder me.
In the end, those lentils and millet are still in the lazy Susan because FUCK THAT SHIT, WE WENT RAW!!! Woooo! And we feel so free!
Turns out it was a good decision - Effie has been fever-free for months, her coat is soft and shiny as fuck, she's gotten her lovely fat muzzle back and she's sleek, like a greyhound. Just look at her go!
Good dog.
