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In July 2013 I took my sons to the local shelter to “look at the dogs.” An old dog, Shep, and a funny, overweight Puggle named Theo were behind the reception desk. Both wagged their tails and were happy to see us. We walked through the kennel area to see if others dogs might be a good fit for our family. Although there were plenty of great dogs, none of them spoke to my kids like Theo and Shep. We decided that Theo might mesh better with our other dogs, due his small size, and took him for a walk. He pranced proudly out of the shelter, quite pleased to be with us. My sons both felt confident that he was the one, but I wanted to be sure.
I took my kids to Helping Hounds who always has lots of puppies, to see if my children would change their minds. However, they barely looked at the pups. They only wanted Theo.
One of the first things you figure out as a parent is when to stop offering choices. When you have a unanimous decision, just stop! Thankfully, I remembered this important lesson before one of them changed his mind. The next day we adopted Theo.
He has brought so much love, joy, and laughter into our family. I can’t articulate how much he means to me, but chances are you already have felt this kind of love for a dog. Theo trusts us, and we do our best to keep him happy and healthy.
Theo’s Top Five Activities
Eating
Snuggling
Playing Tug of War
Belly Rubs
Chewing on Toys
In addition to giving him lots of love, playtime, and snuggles, we feed him quality dog food like Natural Balance™ Wild Pursuit and Limited Ingredient Diet. Natural Balance uses top ingredients and tests every batch of pet food to ensure safety.
Theo has enjoyed Wild Pursuit, but I wanted to give the Limited Ingredient Diet a try. I always choose grain free for my dogs, since Nelly is allergic to grains. Natural Balance has a lot of grain-free options.
The Limited Ingredient Diet has a single source of protein, which can be great for dogs with allergies. The simple formulas from nutrition experts allow for easy digestion. No matter which Natural Balance Dog Food you choose, it will never have artificial flavors, chemical preservatives, corn, soy, wheat, or by-product meals. All of my dogs are enjoying the LID Sweet Potato and Fish formula now.
Whenever you change dog food, the transition from the old food to the new one should take about a week.
Natural Balance has a unique Buy With Confidence™ promise. Learn more about which of the high-quality Natural Balance products are right for your pet. You can even chat directly with an expert veterinary technician about your dog or cat’s unique needs and preferences.
All photos by Alice G Patterson Photography. Follow Alice on Instagram to see more of her work.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Natural Balance. The opinions and text are all mine.
Gorgeous photos! And Theo is so cute! I do occasionally feed Natural Balance treats and my FiveSibes love them!
These photos are beautiful! We give our dog Natural Balance dog food rolls. One of our cats also eats Natural Balance.
My cat loves it too!
He is so cute, and love that your kids gave an adult dog a chance, rather than falling for the puppies.
To be honest, I was surprised at that. Especially two kids falling for the same dog with that intensity.
Can I just first say these are some EXCELLENT photos! We have used Natural Balance and had a great experience with the brand.
Great post with some amazing photos! We use NB treats in our rotation.
Thanks for bringing me on this Beth. I love you and your boys. 🙂
You know we all love you and think you are so talented!
Wonderful post. We all know there is no such thing as “just looking” when we visit an animal shelter.
So true!
Theo looks like quite the asset to your family. I especially love the picture of Theo and his boy : D. He looks fabulous, his diet is obviously agreeing with him!
He is so cute, love the photographs especially the one playing tag.
I loved reading Theo’s story! How wonderful that your kids are so compassionate and chose an older dog!
Theo looks like such a happy and healthy dog! That’s all thanks to you all as a family. Such a great post. We love Natural Balance as well!
We are Huge Natural Balance fans at our house, we love all their products! Great job on this post, I love Theo’s Adoption story! Sweet potato & fish is one of my dogs favorite s too!
Love & biscuits,
Dogs Luv Us and We Luv Them
Beautiful photos so happy to hear that you adopted Theo. We love serving our dogs natural products so definitely going to check this brand out
Theo is so wonderful and he looks so happy to be sharing his life with someone so willing to have a bit of fun!! We love the compassion and joy that comes through your images!
Looks great. Good luck on the new food
What a neat story. The boys just knew. My last dog was named Theo (rescue). I thought I was going to change it, but then read it meant “God Given” you can’t change a name after knowing that. <3
I didn’t know that was the meaning of Theo, but when we brought him home, he responded so well to his name, that we decided to keep it.
I had to laugh at Theo!! Why am I not surprised that his favr thing is eating * giggle * It is such a pleasure to see him enjoying life in the pictures!
A special post this one!
Awww! Theo is a real cutie. I think you made a great choice! Sometimes the right pet finds you. Natural Balance makes some great foods and they provide nutritional options that can be hard to find.
Great photos and I’m so glad Theo chose your family.
Oh Theo! I loved learning his story and how he came into your family and pack. Clearly three+ years later he’s fully established in your pack and Wild Pursuit looks like a great option for food! I have to say that Puggles are adorable!!
Love finding a brand with various grain-free options. Neither of mine have a defined allergy, but they do get a bit itchy.
What a great story of how your pup joined your family! Thanks for sharing, along with sharing your experience with Natural Balance. We’ve really enjoyed all of the Natural Balance products we’ve tried, and I look forward to trying the limited ingredient food sometime soon!
Theo is adorable. I’m not surprised they picked him!
Thank you so much for sharing Theo’s story! I just loved how you wrote this post/review!
Good food is so important for pets. We’re glad Theo has such a great forever home now.
What a lovely “gotcha” story! I’m so glad that you found each other and that you’re using such great food! We’ve always enjoyed the products from Natural Balance and I hope to try the limited ingredient lineup soon.
Theo is so cute! Puggles are one of my favourites 🙂 Such a lovely story
Amazing photos, as always! Theo is such a cutie and what a truly heartwarming story! <3
So a cute ol’ boy 🙂 I love that your kids wanted to adopt an older dog. So sweet!
That looks like one HAPPY dog! Delightful that a senior dog got a great new home.
What beautiful fall photos! We like NB treats!
Natural balance really is fantastic food and we have fed it to Ivi since she was a tiny pup! Love your photos!
Thanks!
He is so cute and likely high energy. Sometimes – or most times they pick you.
Theo is so adorable. I may be biased towards pug and pug mixes though 😉 Glad you found a food that works for him.
The photos are gorgeous! We feed our dog the Natural Balance rolls.
We haven’t tried those yet, but I think I will pick some up soon.
What beautiful photos!
Completely gorgeous photos and Theo looks so sweet and kind – very blessed!! Very good choice, going with Natural Balance!
He is very loving and adores my kids!
Natural Balance is a trusted name brand in this household. We recommend them and our dog’s bestie thrives on the LID. Your photos are adorable.
Thank you!
Great post and beautiful pictures! So nice of you to adopt those cute little dogs. I love Natural Balance. I’m sure these dogs are happy with you guys.
Theo has the cutest face – love these photos, he’s a happy and very lucky dog!
aww, theo is adorbs. I love the expressiveness in his face
Theo is so cute- Kilo shares the favorite activities (some people have suggested he may be a puggle too). Great photos as always and the Natural Balance food sounds like a great choice. Love their promises and ingredients and quality control etc. Will have to add to Kilo’s rotation.