My Journey Into Cooking for Dogs

Years ago, I started cooking for my dogs because I wanted to know exactly what they were eating. I’ve always been a research-driven person—back in graduate school I conducted clinical research—so naturally I began digging into what really goes into commercial dog food.

The more I learned, the more shocked I became. The truth is, the dog food industry isn’t much different from the human food industry. Companies are legally allowed to put toxic chemicals, synthetic vitamins, by-products, and additives into food. Labels are misleading, and there’s very little standard of quality for the ingredients being used.

Even many so-called premium brands use things you’d never knowingly feed yourself—or your dog. But when it’s disguised with vague terms and clever marketing, most pet parents never think to question it.

The Hidden Truth: Rendering Plants

One of the worst-kept secrets in the industry is the use of dead animal carcasses and factory-farm waste.

Rendering plants process:

• Dead, diseased, or dying animals from factory farms

• Slaughterhouse scraps

• Expired supermarket meats

  
  

These are cooked at high heat and turned into vague ingredients like “meat by-product” or “animal fat.” The process doesn’t guarantee safety—drugs, contaminants, and pathogens can survive rendering—and the nutritional value is far lower than that of fresh, whole food.

At the end of the day, these ingredients are chosen not for health, but because they’re cheap.

Why I Started Devour Dog Foods

This is just one of the many reasons I began cooking my own dog food—and eventually sharing it with others. When I buy and prepare food, I know exactly what goes in: real meat, vegetables, and fruits.

I’m proud to make meals that are as close to homemade as possible—because every dog’s bowl deserves better than leftovers from the factory-farm industry.