Shannon Bahrke, a bronze medalist in this year’s Olympic women’s moguls, is also a champion for animals.

Bahrke, founder of the Silver Bean Coffee Company, brewed up a way to help our furry friends with Best Friends Animal Society, America’s largest sanctuary for abused and abandoned pets.

For every bag of Silver Bean’s Best Friends special blend you buy, Best Friends and the animal on the front of your bag of coffee receives $5.

Bahrke tells NBC that her love of animals is one thing people don’t know about her.

“Whether it’s my own kitty cat or somebody else’s dog or fish in a tank, I just love animals,” Shannon said. “And I really have a soft spot about them. I’m going to be the cat lady, that’s what I tell everyone, I’m going to be the cat lady with like 30 cats because I love them all.”

Halo loves to help Best Friends’ furry friends too. We are longtime supporters, and recently donated 3,599 cases – or 43,188 cans – of Spot’s Stew for its 400-plus dogs.

Here is a guest blog from one of our Facebook Fans, Wendy Shekell Dosch. She wanted to share Codi’s story with Halo and our blog readers.

Thank You Halo!!! OUR STORY:

You literally saved my Golden’s life!!

My precious 13 year old Golden is a different dog since eating Halo. In the past she has been diagnosed with chronic UTI, thyroid problems, hip displasia, had her spleen removed, was told she had liver cancer and lymphoma… The list just goes on.

She had been on prescription Science Diet for about 8-10 years. She has been on so many different antibiotics there were few left the vet had not tried. In October of last year she was so weak she could not walk and had to be feed soft food by spoon. My husband and I carried her out to potty.

She started chattering and shaking and was sicker than I’ve ever seen her. She was taking two very strong antibiotics one of which was Batril she was put on Valium and pain meds. Also still giving wet Rx Science Diet. Late October my vet suggested it was time to let her go!!! I was sick, scared and just wasn’t sure I had done everything I could.

SO, that’s when I read about Halo!!! I made the decision the last week of October to take her off all meds except Rimadyl and try feeding her Halo wet food. This is not an exaggeration… I am serious, within four days of feeding her Halo along with Halo supplements she got up for the first time in a month on her own, walked into the kitchen where I was cooking dinner and literally bumped me on the leg and dropped her ball at my feet!!!!!!!

All I could do was get on the floor with her and cry tears of JOY! I am convinced Halo was the main reason she is still with us today. She has not been to the vet since late September of 2009, and is so healthy her hair stopped falling out, her skin isn’t flaking off and she is so happy and absolutely LOVES her Halo Food!!!

Thank You doesn’t even come close to how I feel.
Wendy and Codi

For the second year in a row, everyone’s favorite 100% protein treats took top prize in The Reviewers Choice Awards among dog treats. Halo Spot’s Stew dry dog food also won a Finalist award. As the Buzzillions award site explains, “think of these as the People’s Choice Awards of online shopping” – recognizing the highest-rated products from over 9 million online consumer reviews.

Even though we won for top dog treat – many of our reviews come from cat families, who know that felines can get ferociously addicted to Halo Liv-a-Littles!

As Bettina from Roy, Utah’s Buzzillions review states, “Five stars. Great for either cats or dogs. We purchased these treats for our two Pomeranian’s. It was very interesting to see our very aloof cat come running when we called “chicken” after he got a taste of the treat. It is always fun to see which one of our little ones will get to the kitchen first. ”

Susan D from Illinois explained, “We have three cats who absolutely love this product. It is the only treat our 13-year old diabetic boy can have since it doesn’t contain additives, preservatives or anything else that will raise his blood glucose. He doesn’t mind having his blood sugar tested, he knows his favorite treat will follow.”

That reflects my own experience at home, where our cat Sterling runs to the kitchen when our dog Bert gets his injections – so then they each enjoy a treat.

All Halo treats are made with the highest quality ingredients. Spot’s Stew Dry Dog Food is part of Halo’s Natural Dry Dog Food that is highly digestible, high in protein and quality ingredients, low in carbs and always created with your pet’s entire well-being in mind. Halo never uses chicken meal or other rendered meats.

“This recognition for our pet food is especially important to all of us at Halo because it comes straight from the consumer,” said Steve Marton, CEO of Halo. “Halo wins awards like this only because consumers are demanding great ingredients. Every Halo ingredient is a real, natural ingredient that consumers recognize and understand. Every meat we use can also be sent to make human food products. That’s what consumers are demanding, and that’s what Halo has delivered for over 20 years.”

Click over to our News page to see the Buzzillions reviews and our press release.

Eco Chic, a leading web site “where style and sustainability go hand in hand” focuses on products that are carbon neutral, community based, custom or tailor-made, Fair Trade, organic, recycled, sustainable, vegan and vintage. We’re honored that the Eco Chic “Alpha-Dog” Tammy Preast chose to feature Halo.

She begins her story by getting right to the heart of the matter, asking “Do you know what goes into your pet?”

Then they responding using the words from Halo’s own web site, saying:

“You are what you eat” is true for animals as well as for people. Read the ingredients. Can you identify them? Are there inferior by-products, “meals” or chemicals?

At Halo Pet Foods, they are purely focused on your pet’s well-being. Halo holistic natural dog food and natural cat food are made from real foods you can recognize. Safe, never recalled and NO chicken meal or other rendered meats. 100%Guaranteed.

Click over to our News page for the whole story.

Question: Why does my dog have so much gas? She is eating a high-quality supermarket brand of food and seems healthy…but phew, that smell!! Can Halo help?

Answer: Gas production is a natural part of the digestive process (and some dogs produce a lot more than others!) but excess gas can also indicate intestinal trouble or point toward an inferior diet.

Try feeding a high-quality diet and follow my tips on getting rid of gas. If your dog is still having a problem, consult your veterinarian as there may be something else going on. Good luck!

How Halo may benefit dogs with gas:

• Halo is made with high quality whole meat proteins. The digestibility of these proteins is much higher than rendered meat or meat meals (like chicken meal) and dogs will produce less gas.
• Halo contains no rice or corn or excess amounts of carbohydrates that frequently cause gas.
• Halo promotes intestinal health by choosing fiber-rich vegetables and whole grains.
• Halo has no artificial dyes or colorings. Some dogs have bad digestive and/or allergic reactions to these additives found in commercial dog foods.
• Halo includes prebiotics and probiotics in the dry food. This is a natural way to cut down “bad” bacterial populations in the intestine which are the gas producers.

Tips to decrease gas:

• Slow down how fast your dog eats…fast eaters gulp a lot of air and produce a lot of gas.
• Feed your dog from elevated bowls. This way they swallow less air and produce less gas.
• Exercise your dog after meals to aid digestion and works out the gas while outdoors!
• Limit your dog’s intake of certain foods such as fatty or spicy foods and gas-producing vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, and green peppers.

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.