If you’ve been popping by here for some time now, you might remember me writing a few articles asking you to make sure you know ‘why’ you are vegetarian. Knowing ‘why’ is more important than how or when or how much. My ‘why’ for being vegetarian is simple – nothing should have to lose its life for me to eat.
The little space that I take up in the world is shared by my family (I’ve bragged about them enough here before), and if you’ve clicked around a bit, you may have noticed my little brown labradoodle making an appearance in some of the photos. I’ve never been much of an animal activist or passionate about a particular animal-related cause. Protecting the life of animals by being vegetarian has always been enough for me. Then, Sydney came along.
Sydney quickly became part of the MVF family. He was born in May of 2009 and came home with us in July of 2009. Since then, he has adopted the two MVF kids as his official siblings, and made our house his home. He has been by my side since the launch of My Vegetarian Family for every blog posted, recipe created, concept dreamed up, code inputted, photo taken and even taste tested a few dog-friendly creations. He would wait patiently for me to finish writing or editing photos so that we can go on his next adventure or quietly sleep at my feet keeping me company.
If you’ve been lucky enough to enjoy a meal in our kitchen, you’ve been lucky enough to get to know this little brown furry wonder. If you haven’t, just know that he’s been behind the scences here at MVF working hard alongside me to bring you all of the tips and recipes that fill these pages and your kitchens.
As I write this, I’m not sure if Sydney has another few months or weeks or perhaps days of being my sidekick here at MVF. Although he has aged well + lived quite a full life, he is winding down on the days that he will be sitting at my feet as I publish my Tuesday Tips. I thought it was time to give him the accolades here that he deserves for being my sounding board, my inspiration, my confidant, and my friend for 15+ years.
As I look at Sydney, I see more than just a dog. In his years as a therapy dog, I watched a young girl speak her first words to him and a toddler take his first steps to him. I was there when the pediatric rehabilitation patients brushed his hair, dressed him, used him as a prop, read to him, fed him, braided his ears, sang to him, kissed him, hugged him, and loved him week after week. He went to work as proud as can be. I was lucky enough to be there when he made it possible for a young child to finally be able to have a life-changing treatment because Sydney layed across his chest calming him and preventing him from having a seizure.
My commitment to being vegetarian is about health, ethics, the planet, and compassion. As Sydney lives out his final days, I will extend that commitment to protecting his other four-legged friends, his friends with wings, and those with fins. Whatever your why, maybe Sydney can help you add – protecting the lives of animals – to that list.
As always, thanks for being here. Back to regularly scheduled tips + recipes soon.
All the best,
Tara 🐶👩🏻💻
