Local JobPods

After dozens of dogs and cats died and thousands more became ill from tainted pet food a couple of years ago, many people started paying more attention to what they feed their pets.

And that presented Kristi King with an opportunity.

King makes and sells all-natural, raw pet foods containing seasonal, locally-sourced ingredients. Green Earth Pet Foods is her business, but it’s also her passion.

“I will give advice to you on how to make pet food yourself. Ultimately, I’d rather see someone with a healthy dog or cat than have that money in my pocket,” she said.

King, 46, uses a heavy duty meat grinder to process raw chicken, beef and salmon, which she then mixes with seasonal raw vegetables and fruits, organic yoghurt, eggs and ground seeds such as pumpkin and flax.

She forms the mixture into two-ounce patties. Then she freezes the patties, packages them into 3-pound bags and drives them from her kitchen in Candler to the freezer section at Greenlife Grocery. Costs range from $12.50 to $15 per bag, which should feed an average-sized cat for 10 days and a medium-sized dog for five.

King first started making pet food nine years ago when her German shepherd developed bone cancer. The dog was having difficulty digesting food, and King’s veterinarian suggested she cook chicken and rice for the dog. The dog was able to eat the cooked food, though by that point she was too ill for even a healthier diet to help much.

The situation, however, inspired King to research pet foods, and what she learned made her switch all of her pets to homemade food.

“The low-end dog foods typically have the worst ingredients – often bits and pieces of diseased and even euthanized animals,” she said.

There are no federal regulations or inspections governing pet foods, which is one of the reasons poisoned pet food has ended up on U.S. shelves.

Later King read about raw-food diets for pets, and she decided to try that. She initially was nervous about feeding her pets raw meat, but she learned that the digestive systems of dogs and cats can handle bacteria.

Her pets thrived on the raw diet.

“Besides the overall health benefits of a raw food diet for pets, the other benefits include clean teeth and fresh breath, less smelly litter boxes, no hairballs in cats, plus shiny and sleek coats with less shedding,” she said.

King started by making and selling pet foods from her home in Oregon. She sold that business, Kristi’s All Natural Pet Food, before moving to Candler in 2007. The original business is still going strong in Oregon, she said.

Local veterinarian Laurel Davis tells her clients that commercial pet foods, all of them, are “just overcooked meat that’s been sitting on a shelf for who knows how long.”

She’s a proponent of raw food diets, which she said “are closer to pets’ natural diets.” However, Davis warns people to start their pets out slowly on raw food, so their systems can adjust.

King moved to this area because both her sons decided to attend college in the Southeast (one attends UNC Chapel Hill). She immediately bought freezers, planning to start another all-natural pet food business, but she had a difficult time finding a local source for raw meats. Finally, Greenlife Grocery agreed to both help supply her with meat and sell the pet food and King’s organic vegan dog treats.

Chris Reed, Greenlife’s meat department manager, says he’s happy to order extra meat for King’s pet food. He orders fresh chicken necks and livers and beef hearts for her directly from the farms that supply the grocery store with meats.

“Luckily, we live in a community where people love their pets and understand that their pets need to eat well. I know Kristi’s pet food is a good product and a clean product, and most importantly, she’s local,” Reed said.

King started supplying her products to Greenlife a few weeks ago, and she’s looking for other stores that may want to carry them.

Her three mixed-breed dogs and one cat serve as a tasting panel for new pet food combinations.

“People are afraid to vary their dog’s diets when dogs thrive on that,” she said. “Can you imagine eating the same thing every day?”

Source: Asheville Citizen Times