Kim from DeBary, Fl. sent Ellen the cutest picture of her dog, Bodie, relaxing poolside. Yes, this is indeed a dog day of summer! The terrific shot won Kim Halo’s Dog Days of Summer Pet Photo Contest for August 6.

Send Ellen your funny pet photos by clicking here for a chance to win a $100 gift certificate for Halo products. Each week there is one lucky winner.

For the 2,000 homeless cats and dogs at Los Angeles Animal Services, Halo’s 10,000 meal donation of Spot’s Stew dry and canned food was the cat’s meow.

“The Halo donation is extra special to us,” says Linda Barth, assistant general manager of the city’s six shelters. “Wonderful for us.”

Receiving such a large donation — eaten by cats and dogs, kittens and puppies at two of the shelters — enabled the animals to eat one kind of food for an extended period of time, helping their bellies get used to a new food. “Animals are already under stress in an animal care center and already have digestive issues,” says Barth.

“It is great to be associated with this kind of product and Ellen DeGeneres,” Barth continues. “It is a boost that our organization is something that Halo wants to help, and is providing a natural food.”

The strays who enter the shelter following abuse particularly benefit from a food like Halo. “We would have used this food for animals who need to get healthy,” says Barth, “animals in trouble due to neglect.”

The donation was in partnership with Warner Brothers and L.A. station KNBC.

Barth and her veterinary medical and animal tech staff were so impressed with Halo’s top quality, they are now recommending it to people adopting pets.

Question: I just bought Halo after doing online research of dog foods. I chose Halo for my 2.5 year old Beagle who will eat anything I put in front of him and my 1.5 year old basenji who is a picky eater. She won’t touch the dried peas, carrots, and cranberries so she only eats the kibble.

How much nutrition is she lacking from the food if she won’t eat the veggies? Are there other dogs like her in which ways have been found for the dogs to eat everything? Luckily, they both enjoy frozen pea pods and carrots so I use those for snacks instead. But still…any helpful information is appreciated! BTW, it is the wild salmon dry dog food I feed them.

Answer: Hopefully this will set your mind at ease…the kibble (without the additional dried veggies) meets—and in fact, far exceeds—the nutritional requirements of your dogs every day! It is great that they enjoy frozen pea pods and carrots and these make excellent non-fattening snacks. So, no worries!

Hope that helps.
Dr. Donna Spector

Answers provided to pet owners by Dr. Donna Spector should be considered information and not specific advice. Answers are to be used for general information purposes only and not as a substitute for in-person evaluation or specific professional advice from your veterinarian. Communications on this site are very limited and should never be used in possible cases of emergency. Halo, Purely for Pets will not be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on any information or content contained in a blog or article post.

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For Halo store locations, enter your zip/postal code here. Products sell out fast, so please call ahead to make sure your nearest retailer has what you need (if not, they can usually order it for you quickly).

In the first four months of the pet food bank’s existence at the City of Sacramento Animal Care Services, 500 different people showed up, all unable to feed their cats and dogs. Their only other option was the devastating: to turn their pets over to the shelter.

So when Halo, Purely for Pets recently sent over 5,000 meals of Spot’s Stew, which was shared by the Sacramento SPCA, it was a complete surprise. “Halo was dropped from heaven,” says Penny Cistaro, manager of the animal care program for Sacramento and creator of the food bank in November of last year. “It has been incredible for us to have that much food.”

The food bank relies on donations for the program to run. “I love the food bank,” says Cistaro. As do the grateful pet owners who come for food. They include the homeless and those that lost their house, even state workers experiencing financial difficulty due to California’s forced unpaid three-day-a-month furlough.

“They’re just plain thankful that they’re here,” says Cistaro. “They can’t believe we won’t make them do something to do for the food. When people come in for help, it’s a humbling experience and it’s a good thing to offer.”

Watch the segment on the local TV news about the donation and the shelter.