The healthy hound

Pet nutritionist makes fresh and tasty
food for canines and soon for kitties too

by CHRIS BARRY

Name: Tracy Martin

Age: 31

Occupation: Pet food cook/vendor

Bio: This totally awesome downtown broad has always been big on “the natural health movement,” having studied nutrition for years at the Natural Health Consultants Institute in NDG, a joint co-founded by her mother. Five years ago, she adopted one Louie, a dachshund hound suffering from a variety of minor health issues “like rashes, hair loss, runny eyes, lots of weird little things the vet can’t really help with.” Sensing that Louie’s diet of high-end yet mega-processed commercial dog food might be having something to do with his condition, the nutritionist in her soon started feeding the pooch “real, fresh food,” and within a few weeks, “he started getting so much better, it was insane.” Blown away by the difference in Louie’s health, Tracy went about learning all there is to learn about canine nutrition and soon, with the help of other notable experts in the field, had developed her very own homemade dog food brand, Evive. Solely comprised of fresh, whole, local ingredients, Tracy—who, in the past, has laboured Mother Teresa-like, erecting orphanages in Peru and “as an intervention worker at a women’s shelter—now spends her days at her newly opened kitchen/store Evive (93 Rachel W., 514-GO-EVIVE, www.evive.ca) cooking up first-rate, affordable pet food for Montreal’s luckier canines. She expects to introduce a line of superior cat food within the next few weeks as well. “I’m doing this because I truly and honestly love dogs, and this is my way of taking care of them. I wish they could all have healthy, fresh food in their diets.”

Is it safe to assume only the hounds of the bourgeoisie can afford Evive dog food? Not at all. “To feed a 10-pound dog Evive exclusively costs about 2.20 a day—but it’s not an all or nothing thing, you can always mix it in with kibble if you want. I wanted to make this food accessible to everyone, so I’ve really done my best to keep the price low.”

What makes Evive any better than, say, a delicious vintage Gaines burger? “I only use fresh, local ingredients, and everything is meat-based—and the beef I use isn’t processed, like with commercial foods. Because I only use local produce, my recipes follow the seasons. This summer it was beef, beef heart, liver, brown rice, zucchini and blueberries. And I also add in all the vitamins and minerals—natural source, of course—and the good oils: wild salmon, flaxseed and cod liver oil, which is a natural source of vitamin A and D. The dogs really enjoy it too. It tastes good.”

Oh yeah? Has she ever eaten it? “Well, I’m vegetarian, but yeah, I’ve tried it before and it tastes pretty good. People always come in here when I’m baking going “Wow, what are you cooking, it smells amazing!” And it does, you know. I’ll have squash in the oven, chicken, some sweet potatoes going, apples. It really does smell good.”

Childhood ambition: To become a dancer on Solid Gold.

Last book read: Of Human Bondage, by W. Somerszet Maugham

Musical preferences: Brian Eno, Plaza Musique, Josh Rouse

Words of wisdom: “When the mind is still, the sun and the moon reflect each other.”

Comments: dimwit@hdot.net