Big Kibble

by Shawn Buckley and Dr. Oscar Chavez

Published December 1, 2020 by St. Martin’s Press

Rating: 4 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Genre: Non-Fiction

My Thoughts and Synopsis:

This book was incredibly well researched and eye opening. It’s a book every dog lover and pet owner should read.

Though advances in medicine and treatments have advanced exponentially over the years, our dogs are still only living approximately 12 years, and often times have shorter life spans than they did 50 years ago. Much of this is likely due to what they’re consuming.

The premise of the novel is the benefits of feeding dogs fresh, whole, human-grade food. It turns out, the kibble and food widely available for animals is feed-grade quality and therefore, really not food at all. On top of containing fillers, animal by products, and really anything but the lovely meats and vegetables featured on the packages, they often contain chemicals and incredibly harmful toxins that have repeatedly been found to harm or even kill our pets.

Recall after recall has changed little in the industry. With almost no oversight, Big Kibble is free to use cheap products, chemical processes, and poor hygienic and transport practices. You would think that killing your customer base would be bad for business, but convenience, low price points, and a lack of knowledge have made kibble an attractive option for many pet owners.

The authors Shawn and Oscar opened JustFoodForDogs in 2010 so they are actually practicing what they preach and are seeing the benefits in their own dogs and their clients’ dogs on a first hand and daily basis. Oscar has a history as a veterinary nutrition professor at a reputable college and Shawn originated the idea of cooking fresh, whole food for his dogs with his girlfriend and they realized they had a solid business idea.

I was worried going into this that it would basically be a promo for their brand. Though of course profits are important, it’s abundantly clear that this is not the sole mission of JFFD. So clear that their recipes are included for free online (and in the book), the authors openly admitted to blunders including a recall due to contaminated green beans they had purchased from a wholesaler, and they also mention other businesses with similar products on a repeated basis. This helped make the book feel more genuine and honestly made JFFD that much more attractive to me as a consumer.

I really enjoyed the personal stories about people’s dogs, especially the ones with happy endings! With my legal background, I was also particularly interested in hearing about the various lawsuits brought against Big Kibble and the comparisons between Big Kibble and Big Tobacco. There was also a lot of history – about kibble itself, dogs as pets, etc. – that I suspect many readers will really enjoy.

If you were debating whether or not to buy a copy of this book please be aware that the authors are donating 100% of the royalties to pet rescue organizations. I mean, WOW.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this insightful novel.