An Edinburgh dog walker has put his pet on completely vegan diet after a radical lifestyle change four years ago.
Craig McAllister, 42, and Einstein his a Border Terrier, aged 12 in human years, have been following a fully plant based diet.
The pup has been on a vegan food plan for the past three years and lives an active lifestyle with his owner, who travels to Edinburgh to exercise his pet.
Although rare, plant based dog food is becoming more widely available with celebs like Chris Packham and Lewis Hamilton feeding their a vegan diet.
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The 42-year-old, who now stays in Prestwick, trialled the diet a couple of years ago and hasn't looked back since, 12-year-old.
Einstein eats plant based dog food and bits of carrot, a rare Shreddie and a taste of peanut butter when he’s been particularly good.
Speaking to Edinburgh Live Craig explained: "It’s so much easier to be vegan now. I remember the first week spending six hours following a recipe for bean burgers that tasted awful.
"I eat a much more varied diet now, probably 80-90% whole foods and the rest would be processed/convenience food.
"It seems like every week there’s another big brand bringing out a cruelty free product.
"I remember someone guffawing at an advert they’d seen for vegan shampoo and it wasn’t till later I wondered why anyone would want to wash their hair in a dead animal.
"I bought Superdrug’s own brand toothpaste as it was cruelty free and contained no animals, I hadn’t realised how many products had animals in them. It reached in to all parts of my life.
"My thoughts were, if there’s a choice between crisps with violence in them or crisps without, why would I choose violence?"
After starting ultra-running four years ago the 42-year-old started a vegetarian diet but after just a week he went completely plant based and has expanded it from just his diet to other areas of his life.
He continued: "Someone did ask about my dog, and his food was not vegan.
"I researched it and there were so many positive stories that I thought I’d try it and if it didn’t agree with him we’d swap back.
"I transitioned him over three months to see how he went. 25% vegan dog food, then 50/50 and so on till he was on a complete vegan diet.
"He eats V dog, which is a complete dog food and also spoonfuls of sweetcorn, bits of carrot and some chickpeas.
"And he gets a slice of seeded toast on a Sunday.
"We’ve never looked back. Obviously he eats things he finds in bushes but in the house he is plant based.
"He loves his grub. He hasn’t lost any fitness, his coat is great and he’s rarely ill now. He used to be ill about once a month with his stomach."
The fitness fanatic continued: "Chris Packham was posting recently that his dog was trying vegan food, the same with Louis Hamilton.
"We’re all trying to cut back on our meat intake for the planet just now, some of us completely, and I think pet food will follow that trend."
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In response to receiving backlash for the pooches diet Craig said: "There’s only really been two comments regarding him being on a cruelty free diet but people should be more concerned about overweight dogs or flat-faced dogs.
"Vegan dog food has been around for over twenty years, some people are just get angry over the V word.
"If people were to google what happens to male chicks in the egg industry, they’d see what animal abuse is Einstein has all the love and attention he needs, he has medical attention if required and he has me wrapped around his paw.
"He’ll never be hungry. He’s not just surviving on a vegan diet, he’s thriving."
