Although by day I work as a scientist doing drug discovery research, my true passion is anything that has to do with animals and since the massive recalls of commercial dog food that came to light in 2007 I have been educating myself (and everyone around me who will listen) on how to feed our animal companions the best diet possible. My husband and I are the proud parents of Chile (a nine-year old miniature dachshund), Stanlee (a five-ish year old Manx mix), and just recently two adopted rabbits, Cassia & Nutmeg. Through the years I have been gradually learning more and more about what is best to feed Chile (she’s been with us the longest) and have seen her health improve exponentially as a result. I have just taken the big step of converting her to an all homemade diet consisting of raw meats, fruits and vegetables. I wanted to start a blog to document my adventures with this new process as well as Chile’s progress with her new meal plan. After we have Chile’s new diet in place I hope to move the cat away from dry food and get him on a freshly prepared diet as well. I am not a veterinarian and every animal has different nutritional requirements depending on life stage, breed, size, health issues, etc so this is not a “step-by-step” guide on how to cook for your dog but I hope that I can emphasize how important (and attainable) a species- appropriate diet is for your pet to maintain a healthy lifestyle.