What a Lifetime with Dogs Has Taught Me

From my earliest memories, I was obsessed with dogs.

I grew up in the west of Ireland, at a time when it was quite common for dogs to wander freely around the countryside. I drove my mother mad asking for one of my own. If I did not ask her once a day, I probably asked her twice.

The answer was always no.

That did not stop me. I would head out with a piece of baling twine or one of my dad’s belts and, if I came across a dog, I would bring it home. This happened more than once. My mother would then spend the rest of the evening trying to find the dog’s actual owner.

Eventually, she gave in.

My first dog, Trixie

Trixie was my first dog, and I adored her. She was high-spirited, loving and everything I had been asking for.

Sadly, our time together was cut short. Trixie ate poison that had been left somewhere in the countryside. A vet was called, but she could not be saved.

Losing her affected me deeply. After Trixie, I did not share my life with another dog for many years. That changed when I met Duke at Manchester Dogs Home.

The dog who changed my life

Duke changed the course of my life completely.

He was one of those exceptional dogs who seemed to understand everything. Anyone who met him fell in love with him. He had an extraordinary nature and became far more than a companion to me.

Duke had already experienced a difficult start. I was told that, before being rescued from the streets, he had eaten food containing pieces of glass. He required an operation on his stomach and continued to have digestive sensitivities afterwards.

At the time, I was working as a floristry teacher. Meeting Duke made me reconsider the direction of my life. I eventually left teaching and trained as a dog groomer, travelling to college in Newton-le-Willows in the evenings to learn.

I later started my own grooming business, and dogs became part of my everyday working life.

Looking more closely at dog nutrition

Although I had studied some canine nutrition during my grooming training, Duke’s digestive difficulties made me look at it much more closely.

The food he was eating was not working well for him. I wanted to understand why and find options that better supported his needs. The more I learnt, the more interested I became in the relationship between what dogs eat and their wider wellbeing.

I began offering carefully selected, good-quality dog food through my grooming salon. It was not about following trends. It came from wanting better choices for Duke and for the other dogs I met through my work.

My grooming career eventually came to an unexpected end following a car accident. I could no longer continue with the physical demands of grooming, but my commitment to dogs had not changed. My work simply had to take a different direction.

Nutrition moved to the forefront, and it remains central to the work I do at Betty & Butch today.

What has remained constant

The dogs in my life have changed over the years, and each one has taught me something different. They have also reinforced the responsibility we take on when we choose what goes into their bowls.

One principle has remained constant throughout my work:

If we would not feed it to our own dogs, we would not recommend feeding it to yours.

Over time, that principle has developed into the belief at the heart of Betty & Butch:

Wellness Begins in the Bowl.