On Friday, January 5, 2007 the FDA approved Slentrol, the first drug for obese dogs. With any drug, there are side effects and in this case, those include vomiting, diarrhea and lethargy. If you knew of a natural way to help your pet lose pounds without risking adverse reactions, would you take the nutritional approach first — one that has proven successful for two decades — or would you go straight for the meds?

Andi Brown, founder of one of America’s first holistic pet care companies, Halo, Purely for Pets, and author of “The Whole Pet Diet: Eight Weeks To Great Health For Dogs and Cats” (Celestial Arts/Ten Speed Press, $16.95), with a Foreword by Richard Pitcairn, DVM, is on a mission to educate pet lovers about the power of feeding your dog (and cat) nutritious, wholesome foods. Brown reveals the real secret of how your pets can loose weight in a matter of days without a prescription from your vet.

Seventeen years ago, Brown started Halo (http://www.halopets.com/) in her living room with $3,000. Now she distributes over 1 Million orders, with over 30 exclusive items, including her famous Spot’s Stew, made entirely with “human-grade” ingredients. This chicken/vegetable meal was the turning point in Brown’s life and in the thousands of pets’ lives that she touched. Brown’s mission became helping others when she learned the premium food she fed her own cat was surprisingly the cause of his woes. “I wanted to share my results with everyone who was desperate to discover how to have slimmer, healthier pets; and word spread quickly as others put their own pets on my food regimen. I created Halo — and wrote the book — to counterbalance a commercial pet food industry that continues to churn out poor quality, high carbohydrate filled foods. Changing your pet’s diet is a lifetime prescription to health, will help keep it trim, and can be achieved easily without medication.”

Our society is turning into a quick fix culture, where the norms are shifting from diet and exercise to liposuction and weight loss drugs. Now our beloved pets are the new focus of this controversial trend. Brown’s mantra is, “food is the foundation of life” for any body (human and animal). And “The Whole Pet Diet” offers the guide to maintaining your pet’s health by getting at the root of the problem the old-fashioned way, spreading good news, superb recipes, and great health tips to you for your favorite animal friends.

Web site: www.halopets.com