Hi there! I am Tara and I'm so glad that you're here!
In December 2023 I left my full-time job to start Benson's Bowl, a fresh meals delivery service for your dog with exclusively whole foods. Unlike other options we've tried for our dogs, Benson's Bowl meals will use human-grade ingredients and absolutely no fillers, additives, or preservatives.
Benson's Bowl has a special place in my heart. Four years ago, Benson (our now 9-year old Golden Retriever) was increasingly uninterested in his kibble meals, showed signs of lethargy, suffered from recurring ear infections, and had scaly, dry skin and rough fur. After several veterinary consultations, blood work (and lots of googling on my part!) we switched Benson to a fresh foods diet under the guidance of a canine nutritionist.
Over the next year we observed remarkable steady changes in fur condition, skin health, and energy levels. We repeated the comprehensive blood work at the 1-year mark, and have done so every year ever since. The improvements in his reports and overall well being have been significant - it appeared that being a helicopter dog-mom was paying off!
Having a full time job, two little human kids and scouring every grocery store to source ingredients for fresh meals was an extremely time-intensive undertaking. It's been a labor of love for the last four years. The time commitment led us to try several commercially available fresh and raw dog food brands. However, it was always hard for us to get comfortable with these options due to frequent use of filler ingredients (starches), additives, and the products arriving as a paste or minced. We also dealt with constipation, throw ups and sometimes outright food refusal. Due to the lack of ingredient transparency, carb fillers and our inability to tell apart potato mush from ground (meat?), we reverted back to preparing meals in our own kitchen, from scratch. Our pups absolutely relish meal time and we continue to observe a high level of vitality.
My hope is that Benson's Bowl grows to be a wonderful source of nutritious food for your pups too. Our meals consist of human grade, diced muscle and organ meats, fresh vegetables and fruits, and nutrients from whole food ingredients for optimal bioavailability. That's it! No cheap starch fillers, no additives, and no preservatives. Our meals are lightly cooked and arrive at your door frozen.
Benson's Blog will be here to document the journey and serve as a reference point for our growing community!
With love,
Tara, Benson & Family