The Dog Who Found Me

Life with Chelsea and the comfort of good food.

While Alistair was teaching us about nutrition, our pack grew. I wasn't actively looking for a dog, but sometimes, the universe knows what you need. Chelsea, a beautiful Labernese, was in a kill shelter in San Diego. I guess you can say she found me.

Chelsea and Alistair were our duo. And because we had already seen the incredible benefits of a limited-ingredient diet with Alistair’s heart condition, it was a no-brainer to feed Chelsea the same way. We wanted to give her the healthiest foundation possible.

We had wonderful years with our pack, but eventually, we faced every dog owner's nightmare. Chelsea developed an aggressive form of cancer in her spleen that had already spread. We fought hard for her, doing everything we could, but she eventually passed away from complications following surgery.

Losing Chelsea was devastating. But looking back, I stand by our choice to feed her a limited-ingredient diet until her very last day.

We learned that nutrition isn't just about extending the quantity of years, though we believe it helped Alistair, it's about maximizing the quality of those years. We believe her diet helped her maintain her strength, her comfort, and her dignity for as long as possible. Food was one of the few ways we could actively provide her comfort when so much else was out of our control.

In the final part of our series, I’ll introduce you to our current pack, Daphne and Huxley, and discuss why we cherish every single day