What's Preserving Your Pet's Food?
Hey, Friends!
We are almost to 400 fans on Facebook! “Like” us today for fun quotes, daily specials, adoptable animals, product information, events and more.
Nail Clinic
Our fabulous Nail Clinic is this Saturday, August 21st. We feature this clinic every third Saturday of each month for only $6.00 per dog. Stop in between the hours of 10am-2pm, no appointment necessary.
New Natural Balance Dog Treats
We’ve got the new flavors of Natural Balance dog treats in stock and they are flying off the shelves almost as fast as Tillman can skateboard. Choose from Bison & Sweet Potato, Lamb & Rice and Chicken & Sweet Potato.
Parsley, Sage, ROSEMARY & Thyme
Not quite ready to take the leap from kibble to raw? Try The Honest Kitchen! This food is dehydrated and so simple to prepare, just add warm water and wait 5 minutes. It is incredibly palatable, dogs and cats go nutty for it.
Feed it “as is” or add your own ingredients to it for more pizzazz. Fresh fruits, vegetables, lean proteins—toss ‘em in. We have a staff member that even puts hers in a crock pot and cooks up something yummy for her three pooches each day!
So…who knew rosemary was famous for more than a song—as a preservative in your pet’s food! The Honest Kitchen tells us a little more about rosemary’s unknown claim to fame.
(The following are excerpts from The Honest Kitchen E-Newsletter, August 2010.)
Rosemary is for remembrance—a symbol of friendship and loyalty.
We use rosemary in each of our diets for these qualities but also for its preserving capability.
A study done at Rutgers State University found that rosemary had preservative qualities more powerful and safer than the common food additives BHA and BHT. It helps prevent food spoiling and poisoning. To avoid confusion over rosemary oil and rosemary (the plant - which is what we use), it’s very important to know that the essential oil of rosemary, which represents a concentrated form of a select number of chemical constituents of the plant, is a very different medicine than the whole-plant. “The ‘whole plant’ is always greater than the sum of its parts…”
The essential oil is closer to being a drug than a herbal medicine. Rosemary in plant form is much gentler and effective for preserving food the natural way.
What Makes Our Pet Food Different?
Minimal Processing
By using a gentle dehydration process, we are able to maintain the integrity of our core ingredients. Our fruits and vegetables are harvested at the peak of their ripeness then gently dried. Dehydration ensures that the enzymes, vitamins and nutrients are still intact, so our fruits and vegetables are actually considered raw. Our meats and eggs are dehydrated at a high enough temperature to kill any pathogenic bacteria that may be present which essentially means that these ingredients are considered ‘cooked’ during dehydration.
Dehydrated foods are highly nutritious, easy to prepare and store, and light-weight to ship. It also means that you don’t have to worry about feeding your pet any harsh preservatives. Essentially, our only preservative is the lack of water– how cool?
Human-Grade Ingredients and Production - from farm to bowl
When it comes to sourcing ingredients and preparing our food, we fell back on the simple phrase that mothers and grandmothers are mouthing around the world right now, “You are what you eat.” The same holds true for pets. Human-grade, for us, is not just a marketing term. We believe that your pets deserve the same nourishing diets that you would feed your family.
All our products are safe for human consumption, a requirement for entry into the human food facility where our products are made. Each of our diets are carefully blended to encompass a broad array of amino acids, phytonutrients, vitamins, minerals and enzymes to help achieve and maintain optimum health. Production occurs in a FDA inspected human food facility right here in in the USA, alongside products such as breakfast cereals and beverage mixes for human consumption.
Whole Food ingredients from Suppliers Who Care
All chickens are not created equal; while some have never seen the light of day, ours are free range. Read more about our sustainably raised, free-range chicken from Petaluma Farms right here in California.
We choose suppliers who care because, we care. Many ingredients are carefully sourced from farms in their ‘native’ countries, such as Fair-trade Organic Quinoa from Bolivia, Sweet Potatoes from their native Peru and Bananas from the Philippines. We’re also a proud member of Green America, whose mission is to harness economic power—the strength of consumers, investors, businesses, and the marketplace—to create a socially just and environmentally sustainable society.
Enjoy the cooler temps while they last!
Your Friends at End of the Leash
Please remember that us folks at End of the Leash are not veterinarians, and no information on our website is intended to replace the indispensable and professional advice of your veterinarian.