It was in 2022 that the lovely Dr Simon (a human Doctor) contacted me about his dog Bracken - an 8 year old Viszla who had been diagnosed with a particularly nasty anal gland carcinoma when he took Bracken in for a normal anal gland expression at his vets.
Being a doctor, Simon knew how important it was that his vets removed as much excess tissue surrounding the tumour as possible to avoid leaving behind any cells that could potentially spread in the body for a successful outcome for Bracken.
Due to the anal gland area containing some particularly important nerves and blood vessels, this was not possible and Bracken had his lump removed, but his Dad (shocked by the diagnosis that his beloved dog had); knew that more had to be done. He researched as much as he could about dietary changes and the management of cancer; and as he himself had transitioned to a wholefood plant-based diet (WFPBD), he chose to try it with Bracken.
Listen to the video below where he tells his story (the video was recorded 3 years ago!), and his reasons for choosing to transition Bracken (and Amber his other Vizsla) onto both Solo Vegetal dry food, but the main component of the food was to be made up of wholefood plant-based 'superfoods'.
I was delighted to receive this email from Dr Simon this week (May 2025) as the original shocking diagnosis was made over 3 years ago!!!!
"Bracken is coming up for 3 years post diagnosis of his peri-anal gland Cancer which was resected without a clear margin. He's full of beans (literally) and I'm convinced it's his Rainbow WFPBD with the added Just Be Kind supplement that's to thank, as well as Solo Vegetal.
Thanks again for all you have done and continue to do to help us"
"I just had to share with you what I give these 2 for a small fresh wholefood 'lunch'. I chop up the following raw vegetables into tiny pieces then mix it all in together with the other ingredients:
- Red cabbage
- Broccoli
- Sprouting broccoli seeds and green lentil sprouts
- Red Pepper Hummus - homemade with turmeric, nutritional yeast and pepper
- Nutritional yeast - 1 tbspn
- Turmeric 1/4 - teaspoon
The hummus I make myself from organic dried chickpeas & sesame seeds. I know that garlic is OK in small amounts. So I still add some to each hummus mix.
However, I've stopped adding lemon juice as you explained to me that it is not for dogs as the bitter taste would stop them from eating it (even using a knife that has cut into lemon can be offputting to dogs).
I miss the lemon taste in the hummus myself but it's a small price to pay for the ginger nutters. They also get daily treats of blueberries too.
By the way I thought you might be interested in the product below. I've JUST started using it for Amber & Bracken's lunch and it's awesome. It saves me soooo much time." - Simon
