Hello from whole! Or more accurately, hello from Dan the founder of whole.
As I write, we remain in lockdown here in the UK as we pass the anniversary of an unprecedented global pandemic. Just like thousands of other families, our life changed in a number of ways in 2020, but two events changed my family's life for good.
First, as the summer approached and with the prospect of working from home becoming a reality to both myself and Carol, my wife, we realised that as a family we were at last in a position to seriously consider bringing a dog into our "bubble". I'd grown up with a springer spaniel so knew the commitment involved, but above all we recognised how beneficial it would be to our kids and ourselves to have the love and affection of a four legged family member.
Yes the price of puppies was going crazy and yes it was really intense trying to find a good breeder with "the one" - but in June it happened and we found a little chocolate working cocker who ticked all the boxes (working stock, plenty of character, communicative breeder who let us see him live on a video call and then kept us updated). Helpfully, my past experience meant I knew his vets and that they'd be doing things right so we took the plunge. A few weeks later we managed to travel from SE England to SW Scotland where we met Margaret for the first time, and in her arms was our Noah.
A typically inquisitive cocker (he just padded over to check out what I was doing upon hearing the keys tapping!), it was love at first sight and 8 months on he's absolutely at the heart of the family. In weeks to come we'll share some of our experiences around finding, settling and training puppies so watch this space...
The second big event was my decision to change career path and set up the brand I always wanted to create, but just didn't have the support in other people's companies. There is a bit of craziness in starting a business as the world seems to have stopped, but we think there's method in my madness. We know there are lots of pet lovers out there who want to feed the right thing for their whole families, both from a health and nutrition perspective but also in a way that minimises the impact on the planet. So that's just what we're setting out to do here at whole. Thanks for reading, and we hope you'll join us as we seek to feed well....
Dan, March 2021
