[rawfeeding] Greetings

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Just wanted to say hello. I started feeding my three dogs (two
75-pound mutts, both 11/12 years old, one male [Bandit] and one female
[Duchess,]and a 55-pound 7-month-old white boxer [Zach]) and two cats
(6-pound 10-year-old siblings: Mitchell, the boy, and Cruz, the
girl) raw day before yesterday. They are all taking to it nicely. One
of the older dogs, especially, has greeted the change to his diet with
a gusto that suggests it's what he's been waiting for for years.

I'm committed to doing this, but it's going to be tricky for me. I
live in a small town in a sparsely populated part of Maine and don't
drive, so roaming around looking for deals isn't an option. There's
one organic farm nearby, and I'm hoping to persuade them to sell me
the bits that people shun for $1/pound. There's also a small organic
pig farmer and a fellow who raises chickens and pigs whom I might be
able to haggle with (the second guy is a good source of free-range
eggs: $1.50/dozen). And I've opened negotiations with the butcher in
my local grocery store and hope for good pickings there eventually.
Finally, I need to approach the local fishermen (I'm on the coast) to
see what I can get from them. At the least, I'm hoping that when the
mackerel are running in late summer/early fall, I'll be able to load
up with them. Plus there's a dog breeder fairly nearby whose a
big proponent of raw feeding; she might be able to give me some tips.
A big regret is that all the sardine packers in town have
shut down; otherwise, I might have had a great source of fresh
herring. Oh well.

I swear I noticed a change in my dogs after just one raw meal. They
became more doglike: because eating is harder work (and they're
protective of their food), they play less; the female has started
standing up to the very importunate puppy; and, as I said, my old boy
is just in heaven. So far, they're only eating chicken (backs,
leg/thigh quarters, hearts, and a smidge of liver), but by the time
they're ready to graduate, I'm hoping to have talked the butcher into
giving me some deals and persuaded the larger organic farmer to let me
have pig offal and meaty bones (I had ordered some from her, and she
refused to send more than one heart along, because she had heard that
wolves aren't supposed to eat pork and was sure that the same held
true for dogs--silly billy!).

Anyway, I could go on and on (and indeed already have). I'm quite
obsessed with the project right now, and soon all my friends will be
running from me to avoid listening to me talk about my beasts' diet.
I really just wanted to introduce myself and my critters and to say
how happy I am to have found this board.

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