It all began with a dog that couldn’t stop farting…
The Butternut story began five years ago with a visit to the Battersea Dogs Home website. Dave, one of our founders, was browsing pictures of the resident dogs with his family, when they spotted a Staffie that they fell in love with at first sight.
Rudie, Rudie, Rudie, Rudieeeee
Disaster nearly strikes when the gang arrive to find the dog in such a bad way that staff said they wouldn’t be able to see her. Undeterred, The Nolans (the protagonists of this story, not the pop group) persuaded the Battersea team that their home was the perfect place for her to recover and live a long and happy life. It quickly became apparent however, just how poorly their new dog was…
The Winds of Change
Having been abandoned in the snow, Rudie had been sick for several months and was having to take lots and lots of medicine. Things didn’t look good. Things also, well… things also didn’t smell good. One admittedly hilarious but rather unfortunate side effect of her ill health was chronic flatulence. As a result, the family decided to call her ‘Rudie’.
Making a dog’s dinner of it
With seemingly nothing helping Rudie’s little problem, the Nolans decided to cook Rudie her own food at home, carefully choosing the right ingredients to help her health improve and carefully removing irritants by process of elimination. It worked better than they had ever dreamt possible.
Making Dog Food Magic
By now, Dave and his mum Mary had perfected their canine culinary skills. Then, one fateful lunchtime, Dave mentioned the remarkable effect home cooking was having to his workmate Kev, a fellow dog lover. Kev then suggested they could cook for even more dogs. So with this in mind, the boys planned a visit to Mary’s kitchen.
Testing, testing, 1, 2, 3 types of meat
Mary prepared a bunch of different dishes for Kev to see and taste; suitably wowed, he and Dave decided to trial them on the dogs of various friends and family members. Over the next two weeks, feedback started to trickle in and the results were… [pause for suspense] … overwhelmingly positive!
Butternut Box is Born
After the positive results of the trial, word spread about the Butternut meals and for the next nine months Dave and Kev struggled to keep up with demand. Finally, after a growing chorus of friends urging them to quit their careers and become full-time doggy dieticians – they did, and all of Britain’s dogs woofed approvingly. Probably.
Making the dinners our dogs deserve
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Currently, most of the UK’s mass-produced dog food is made up of a hodgepodge of waste products, mystery fillers and preservatives that ensure a shelf life longer than the Lord of the Rings trilogy. This has led to millions of dogs in millions of households suffering due to their poor diet.
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We wanted to help change that - working alongside vet nutritionists, we created four different meals that contain just the right mix of top-notch ingredients. Our mission’s far from over, but we’re making great progress. Fussy eaters are gobbling down meals and dogs with regularly upset stomachs are showing, shall we say, a solid improvement.
Who we are
Dave (as told by Kev)
Dave is a crazy dog man in training. He tries to deliver as many boxes as possible himself so he can meet (and hug) as many of the Butternut Box gang as possible.
A keen motorbiker, he’s currently trying to work out how to get Rudie to sit still in a sidecar.
Apart from The Lumineers, he has no knowledge of any music released after 1999.
Kev (as told by Dave)
Kev and I met on the first day of our old job. We started on the same day and quit on the same day.
He once delivered a box to a client whilst sleepwalking. Ask him about it.
His Spotify collection consists exclusively of house music.
A keen fan of hats, when he’s not dressing his Lab, Ace, in a sombrero (more often than you’d think), he’s building up his own headwear collection.
Giving a bit back
We know not every dog can be as lucky as a Butternut Box dog. That’s why, for every new furry customer that signs up with us, we donate a much-needed meal to a less fortunate dog that’s found itself homeless or in a shelter.
An expert's view...
"As a dog trainer and behaviourist with a strong interest in health and nutrition I can recommend Butternut Box food for all dogs. It’s incredible quality in terms of ingredients and variety."
– Winkie Spiers, Behaviourist
Current Chair of PDTE (Pet Dog Trainers of Europe)