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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

I lead a pretty Pawesome life; just ask my Buddy

By: Staff Writer

Posted: 03/31/2010 1:00 AM | Comments: 0 (including replies)

Kathryn Hildebrand treats Buddy to her delicious dog food. (GEORGE DOUKLIAS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS)

Kathryn Hildebrand is one of two women who won the right to take humour columnist Doug Speirs' place on Page A2 for a day after being the highest bidders in a charity auction for the Winnipeg Humane Society. Here's Kathryn's story:

It's 5:30 in the morning. My alarm clock is about to go off. But I'm already wide awake.

The truth is, I don't know why I bother with an alarm clock, because I have something even better.

I'm talking about my best friend in the world -- my dog, Buddy, a 12-year-old border collie.

Right now, like he does EVERY morning, Buddy is frantically pitter-pattering beside my bed, whining like a leaky steam engine and giving me his legendary pitiful look.

He doesn't want to go outside. He isn't looking for attention. No, Buddy is looking for his favourite thing -- breakfast. I can't start my day until Buddy gets breakfast. He loves his food. But not just any food. Buddy has very discriminating taste buds.

And I'll tell you about that in a minute. But first I'd better tell you a little something about myself.

Welcome to my world. My name is Kathryn Hildebrand. I'm a 31-year-old high school teacher and I have a secret.

I lead a double life. When I'm not teaching my students the wonders of chemistry and biology, I'm running my own gourmet dog food business. Buddy starts my day at 5:30 a.m. and I don't climb back into bed until midnight.

It's never-ending. It's exhausting. It's nerve-wracking. And, if you haven't already guessed, I LOVE it!

I didn't exactly plan to create my own dog food, but Buddy didn't give me much choice. It all began about four years ago when I noticed my best friend just wasn't acting like himself anymore. He was lethargic, his heartbeat was way too low and he'd packed on some extra pounds. (Kind of like Doug Speirs.)

We visited several veterinarians until, finally, one told me I had to change Buddy's diet. The veterinarian gave me a general recipe, I bought the ingredients, cooked it up... and Buddy went wild.

Then it occurred to me I could do even better. I love my dog and I'd do anything for him. So, with the help of a local animal nutritionist, I created my own recipe. Here's an understatement for you: It wasn't easy.

Talk about trial and error. In the last four years, I've learned all the ups and downs of starting a small business literally from scratch. In the early days, my kitchen was littered with ingredients. There were cooling racks everywhere. My house smelled like the world's largest stir fry. I even blew all the breakers in my house because I had the oven going round the clock.

The end result of all this chaotic cooking was Pawesome, an all-natural food packed with ingredients I trust, including carrots, broccoli, brussel sprouts, chick peas, brown rice, garlic, green beans, calcium, parsley, along with chicken or ground beef.

It's frozen, low-calorie, wheat-free, gluten-free, and it packs a nutritional punch. After four years, Buddy's lost 20 pounds and makes the Energizer Bunny look like Jabba the Hutt.

My high-energy pal got so many compliments from other pet owners I decided to turn it into a product that could help other dogs, not to mention their owners. So I did.

Thankfully, I don't have to cook anymore. It's prepared by a local manufacturer using the original recipe. Which means my house doesn't smell like a giant stir fry anymore, but that's OK.

So between the demands of my students, my dog food business and my energetic best friend, Buddy, I don't have a lot of time to call my own. It's not easy balancing two careers -- or trying to write a column about your life -- but I wouldn't have it any other way. It's an adrenalin rush.

I'd love to tell you more about my double life, but I really need to get ready for school and Buddy's hopping around and howling for his breakfast.

Trust me, you'll never need another alarm clock in your life.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition March 31, 2010 A2

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