Woman spends £250 a month on posh meals for her pets but makes them fast once a week – World News

A dog owner shells out more than £250 every month on luxury raw meals for her pets after giving up canned pet food – but makes her animals fast for a whole week.

Leslie Poulos, 28, is owner of pooches Nala, a puggle, Ace, a Border Collie, and Kyra and Roxy, two Siberian huskies.

The animal lover used to feed her dogs standard canned pet food but after finding meal times were becoming a struggle in 2016 – and noticing she was throwing away more food than they ate, which she took as a sign they weren’t happy with their dishes – she decided to give them a lifestyle overhaul.

Her pets are now given dishes packed full of fresh nutrients, including muscle meat, organs, raw meaty bones, fruits, vegetables, supplements, and additives.

The animals are fed once a day and a standard dish could include unusual delicacies such as animal penises, heads, ears and feet, as well as organs and bones, as well as hides, all sourced from local farmers and butchers.

“I have a number of farmers in my area that I source from regularly who save certain items or animals for me that they can’t sell for human consumption,” Leslie, from Ontario, Canada said.

“Most of the pack’s vegetables come from the grocery store in the winter and from my veggie garden in the summer, I also order a lot of my supplements online or make them myself.

“Having a bunch of large chest freezers is really helpful because it allows me to stock up or take things farmers don’t have room for and save money. I also raise meat rabbits, chickens, and ducks in my backyard.

“Doing this is extremely cost-efficient because rabbit is amazing for dogs – but is very expensive to buy and I love that we always have a supply of fresh organic eggs on hand for the dogs.

“I feed them once a day since they are fed a more whole prey-style diet, which mimics what they would eat in the wild and includes lots of whole animals and animal parts so it would be a lot on their digestive system to feed twice a day.

“I also fast them once a week to give their gut a break and allow for the growth of healthy bacteria.”

Leslie is a big advocate for fresh and raw meals, and claims it’s a more “species-appropriate diet” for her pets.

The business owner said: “I think the benefits of raw feeding are endless.

“Raw food is considered a species-appropriate diet, making it the best option for dogs as far as receiving the nutrition they require and their bodies ability to easily absorb and utilise these nutrients.

“Raw food is also far more bioavailable and digestible for dogs, just as real whole foods are for humans.

“In my opinion, most kibbles are filled with nothing but junk food, harmful sugars and heavily processed ingredients – none of which are healthy for dogs.

“Feeding a raw diet allowed me to take control of my dogs’ nutrition by replacing kibble with high-quality whole foods that nourish their bodies and allow them to live an active healthy lifestyle.

“Raw feeding has also given me the freedom and ability to source a huge variety of proteins for my dogs, which provides enrichment and always keeps them engaged and excited for meal times.”

For inspiration, Leslie uses and online feeding resource called ‘Raw Fed and Nerdy’s’ formulation sheet to help plan and balance the dishes to meet national guidelines – and ensure there is enough protein, vitamins, minerals and fat.

She said: “I also calculate my dogs’ meals based on their caloric needs rather than based on their weight, since we are so active in the winter with dog sledding and slow down a lot in the summer due to my huskies not loving the heat.

“Every dog and their needs are different and raw feeding really allows you to cater to this and provide optimal and precise nutrition.”

Some of the other delicacies included in meals include items such as raw goat’s milk or yogurt, chicken, quail and duck’s eggs.

Leslie also feeds the animals her very own homemade bone broth.

She said: “To feed my four dogs, their prey model raw diet with a variety of 10-12 different proteins a week it costs me on average $350 a month.

“This includes everything – meat, organs, bones, vegetables, supplements, and additives.

“Spending this much is more of a personal choice and based on what we can afford, feeding raw can be done for cheaper.

“The lowest I could get costs down to while still providing enough variety and nutrition that I’m comfortable with would be around $250 a month – which is still cheaper than that I would spend on kibble from a veterinary office.”

The dog lover and pet chef shares her incredible meals on Instagram, having started her page this year and already has 5,000 followers so far. While a lot of people are fans of her raw diet model, trolls do often leave nasty messages.

She said: “I got a big response so now I make weekly videos showing how I prepare my dogs meals, what I feed them and talk about all the amazing benefits of feeding raw.

“However I receive negative comments all the time.

“At first, they really used to get to me but I understand not everyone is used to seeing the things I feed.

“Most people’s dog food comes from a bag so I get comments all the time saying that what I’m feeding isn’t necessary or ‘I’m not doing all that for my dog’.

“Feeding a high-quality raw diet is a huge part of our lifestyle and is really important to me, so negative comments will never change that.

“I also get comments saying things like ‘poor chicken’ or ‘poor cow’ [about the food I give the dogs] so in these instances I always try to educate them.

“Many of the items included in my dogs’ bowls would normally be thrown away or rendered down, so I explain that it’s better when an animal’s whole body is utilised rather than being butchered for what we humans want and disposing of the rest.

“I get the most backlash when I post meals that have rabbit parts in them, since most people look at rabbits as pets rather than prey animals.”

After adopting her fourth dog Kyra from Jordan in late 2019, Leslie was inspired to start her own business, Country Paws Raw, which focuses on clean, quality ingredients.

She said: “After we adopted Kyra from Amman, Jordan, I really started to notice the number of treats and chews we were going through and I wanted to see if there was any way to reduce these costs.

“First I looked into wholesale options and buying larger quantities but as I got deeper and deeper into my search, I found that so many of the treats and chews on the market were sourced from factory farms or used low-quality ingredients.

“This is where my idea to create a single ingredient dog treat company that only sourced from local farms came to be Country Paws Raw.

“I started out making dog treats and chews, and throughout the past year, I’ve expanded into raw blends and supplements.

“I love creating fresh, quality treats and meals for dogs and can’t wait for everything the future holds for my small business.”

Footage of Leslie preparing a meal for her dog Nala, which included a rabbit head and paw, multiple animal organs, a green-lipped mussel, chopped red peppers, parsley and goat’s milk garnered a mixed response on Instagram.

“That’s amazing,” one person said.

“You must save a lot,” wrote another fan.

However, someone who owned a rabbit as a pet was saddened: “I know this is necessary for the dog’s diet but as a rabbit owner, it hurts when I see a dead rabbit.”

“The raw meat is one thing but the rabbit head and paw really was surprising. Just not something I’m used to seeing to feed dogs,” wrote someone else.