Like many vegans, I’m torn over whether to feed my dogs a vegan diet.

On the one hand, I don’t want to support factory farming.

On the other hand, one of my darling boys is a picky eater. I tried feeding him vegan food when I first adopted him eight years ago, but each time he backed away from it in horror as though it was some sort of poison.

I always figured he’d eat it if he was hungry enough, but since it’s even a challenge to get him to eat meat-based food, I knew he’d let himself get pretty skinny before he’d cave.

And frankly, I don’t have the stones to put him through that. Nor do I think it’s “right” to put him through that – paticularly given that mealtime is one of the highlights of his confined and controlled existence.    Ambivalence, thy name is veganism.

A recent facebook conversation, however, motivated me to try again to align my ethics with my actions and finally escape from my dog food-induced guilt.

Apparently, over the last little while, several new varieties of vegan dog food have become available, and some of my friends’ notoriously picky canine companions are liking and thriving on them.

I am especially excited about V-dog. Most vegan dog foods are produced for dogs with allergy problems, and their ingredients, though plant based, still have the same ethical issues as any conventionally produced food. V-dog, on the other hand, is produced by vegans, for vegans. Just read the package encasing this paragon of virtue – It seems so ethical that I am tempted to start eating it myself.

And the best news: Spikey likes it! Watch the short clip of him gobble it down.

Anyway, my (so far) successful transtion to V-dog has inspired me to try to help out other Ottawans who are interested in trying their dogs on a vegan diet, but who haven’t yet taken the plunge.

So here’s what we’re going to do: on Saturday, August 11, from 11:30 am – 1:30 pm, we’re going to have a vegan dog food tasting event. It will be held at Reid Park in the Civic Hospital area. Dogs will get to try between 3 and 4 brands of vegan dog food, and to take home small samples as well.

Vegan snacks will also be provided for the humans, and attendees are encouraged to bring their own contributions to make this a “mini vegan potluck”. Finger foods only please! We’ll have plates and napkins, but no utensils on hand.

I’ll be creating a facebook event with all the details shortly. Please RSVP so we can have an idea of how much food to bring.

And – I hope this goes without saying – everyone is welcome. If your dog isn’t the social type, feel free to come alone and bring him back some goodies. If you are dogless and just feel like some snacks in the park, it’s sure to be fun for you too. Click here for a map of the park’s location.

Looking forward to meeting all the veg-curious dogs and their parents 🙂