Natures Menu shares the fantastically heart-warming story of Bodhi, a rescue dog, and his special relationship with new owner Elaine.
Research conducted by Natures Menu, revealed the positive difference pet ownership can have on mental health, with 43% of pet owners saying the companionship provided by their dog was the reason they kept a positive outlook at the height of the pandemic.
One of those people was Elaine, an owner of three elderly and struggling Shih Tzus. At the start of this year, Elaine decided to get her fourth dog – a rescue dog named Bodhi – acquired from a charity dealing with Romanian stray dogs on the brink of being culled.
While grieving the death of her other dog Barney, and whilst looking after two older and unwell dogs Bonnie and Millie, Elaine began to realise that dealing with an undomesticated stray from another country was quite an overwhelming challenge.
Elaine said: “We couldn’t sit down, Bodhi just wouldn’t settle, and it was incredibly difficult to manage when we were providing end of life care for my elderly Shih Tzu Barney. For some reason I just couldn’t take to Bodhi, and as awful as it sounds, I would go as far to say that I disliked him.”
However, as she got to know and love Bodhi, a realisation came over Elaine that made her reassess everything she’d ever thought as a dog owner – she realised that she knew this dog better than anybody else in the world did, and if she gave up on him, how would he ever be able to recover from his previous life?
Elaine addd: “Something clicked in me. I knew his favourite foods and habits because I was starting to understand him. I wanted to defend him to the ends of the earth. I wanted him to find the nirvana he’d been named after, free from hate and pain after sitting in that bus for nearly a week to get here.”
Since the beginning, Elaine fed Bodhi Natures Menu raw food. Her every intention was to give him the best in life, and a complete and balanced raw diet provided all the nutrients he needed to recover from his previous life for one full of vitality. Bodhi is now boasting a beautiful glossy coat from head to toe and couldn’t be healthier.
With Bodhi, Elaine realised that the most important emotion for humans was to give and receive love. Since the day Bodhi arrived in the UK and met Elaine, he had given her endless love and affection, and Elaine knew that she could do nothing but reciprocate the bond that he had already created. Elaine now also volunteers with the charity that rescued Bodhi – Pawprints to Freedom – helping other strays like him from all over the world find new loving homes.
A raw and natural diet can help your dog feel their best, inside and out. With reported benefits such as improved digestion, shinier coats from head to toe, and poos to be proud of – the difference can be amazing with raw feeding. We really believe that the ‘raw food look’ is the sign of a happy, healthy dog.
To learn more about how to make the switch and ‘Get the Raw Food Look’, visit: www.naturesmenu.co.uk/rawfoodlook
