Hanks Menu is named for our beloved Shiloh Shepherd Hank. We found Hank at a breeder in Golden Lake, Ontario in 2014. We were lucky enough to be able to see the litter just after they were born. One puppy, named Mr. Orange by the breeder immediately came up to my Wife Cristina, he cried at her feet, pawed at her legs, demanding to be picked up. Mr. Orange would not leave our side the entire time we were there, he cried if we weren’t holding him. When the time came to select which puppy we wanted, we immediately asked about Mr. Orange, and he was available! We secured our Mr. Orange and a few weeks later we had him in our arms. At 8 weeks old Hank was 22 pounds, originally, we had thought he may have been the runt of the litter, but as it turned out he grew, and grew, and grew, eventually topping the scales at just over 150 pounds, and nearly 7 feet long from nose to tail. 

At the time we got Hank no one in our friend group was married, nor had children. Hank became the substitute child of the group. He was with us for endless weekends at the cottage, parties, get-togethers, and special occasions. Hank even attended our wedding in 2015. When our son was born in 2018, we decided to buy a minivan just so Hank could have more room on those long cottage drives. 

Hank developed into a true gentle giant, a calm, relaxed, friendly guy who was always ready to greet you with a smile. Although, as I mentioned earlier, Hank needed to be touched, to always be close to us or he would whine, the behaviour he exhibited the first time we saw him continued until his last day. Hank was born to be with us, to be next to humans, he loved us as much as we loved him. 

The breeder we got him from had fed him raw, as they lived on a working farm and used what they had available to feed their 8 Shiloh’s. We decided to continue this feeding method and jumped into it headfirst. Back then raw feeding was relatively new. Cristina and I were always running around to different suppliers, farms, butchers, and markets to try and source what we needed. It was extremely time consuming, but we knew we were doing the right thing for him. His veterinarians were uneasy at first, but as they saw Hank’s condition, his teeth, his hair, skin, and his immaculate blood work come in, over the years the questions stopped, we had proved to them we could do it, and it was working wonders for him. 

Hank was a big guy, he developed arthritis in his joints in early 2024. This caused him to kind of plop down onto the floor when he wanted to lie down. We purchased him elbow pads, a tempurpedic bed, cushions, and all kinds of things to help prevent him damaging his elbows. But Hank was big, a plush coated dog and he was always hot, so he did not like using his bed, or cushions, he unfortunately preferred the hard flooring in our foyer close to the door as he got a nice draft from it. We even bought him his own fan, and cooled bed to try and coax him off that floor. Eventually his elbow callus opened, and his arthritis worsened. He began falling, having difficulty climbing stairs so we installed carpet runners on our staircase. One day his elbow callus became infected, we had it treated and were now managing his wounds daily. The elbow callus eventually opened into his arm, and this caused two more infections. Alongside this his arthritis progressed, he was losing the ability to go on walks, climb into the van, or go up stairs. We were trying everything we could to now manage his wounds. Hanks sheer size and his age ruled out surgery, as the amount of anaesthetic he would’ve required more than likely would’ve made it hard to make it through the operation. 

We continued to manage his wounds and tried desperately to prevent any further infections. By late September 2024 It had looked like we had rounded a corner, and he was improving. But, on October 5th, 2024, Hank had a seizure, he lost his balance and was unable to remain steady on his feet. We rushed him to the King Animal Hospital. We were eventually told that the seizure ruptured his cerebellum, and this combined with his advanced arthritis and open wounds that we should strongly think about end-of-life care.

We spent some time alone with Hank, we hugged him, gave him treats, and told him how much we loved him. He was not just a dog to us, he was our family member, our furry son, he was everything. Hank being Hank reached out to us with his massive paws, asking us to hug him, and of course we obliged. I can say without a doubt that Hank was loved unconditionally from the day we saw him, to his very last breath. I hope that one day we will be able to see him again, somewhere in the afterlife Hank is patiently waiting for the next time we can hold him. 

Hank is the reason for this business, we wanted to help keep his memory alive, and decided to jump in and use our experience to help pet parents provide their dogs with a well balanced, healthy way to eat. 

Cristina and I are still mourning our loss, we are not ready to have another pet just yet, but when we do decide to become pet parents again, we will be sure to have them front and center along with us on this journey. 

For those of you that love your dogs as much as we love Hank, we want to let you know that we are here for you, and will help you transition into raw, or continue to feed raw with all the care and compassion we showed Hank.

Welcome to Hanks Menu.