ABOUT
Hello, and welcome!
I am Claire Lucie, a vegan entrepreneur, founder, and speaker.
I am a UK-trained, CMA-registered canine nutritionist and founder of The Vegan Dog Coach, the first platform for plant-based canine nutrition.
The Vegan Dog Coach is educating dog parents from over 65 countries on the safety and health benefits of a plant-based diet for their dogs, using peer-reviewed scientific studies and data.
As a canine nutritionist, I've helped dog clients from 44 countries switch to plant-based diets so far, and my goal is to assist 10 million dogs in shifting to a plant-based diet.
In addition to my profession as a canine nutritionist, I am a public speaker who travels the world sharing the word about the safety and health benefits of a plant-based diet for dogs, both as part of key vegan events and by organising my own event with my team.
World's First Platform for
Plant-based canine nutrition
The Vegan Dog Coach Goal
10 million plant-based dogs
The Why behind my purpose; Blacky’s story
My family and I lost our beloved dog Blacky due to preventable renal disease that was not caused by age.
His death caused me an immense amount of grief, especially knowing that it could have been prevented.
I kept telling myself that if I had started my nutritionist career earlier and given him the right kidney-friendly homemade plant-based diet sooner, he would still be with us today.
I would not wish those regrets and excruciating grief on any dog parents.
This is why I fight to avoid more preventable suffering and premature deaths.
Blacky inspired me to dedicate my life to educating, empowering, and assisting dog parents in feeding their dogs a fresh plant-based diet.
My vision is to restore the health and longevity of dogs throughout the world, allowing them to live happy and healthy lives free of avoidable illnesses and allergies.
Education, qualification, and professional background
Back in December 2018, I started a company in the pet industry, with my brother Olivier, where we created patented innovative pet accessories out of plant material.
In 2019, I began developing a line of dry pet meals and snacks.
I immersed myself in the pet industry, visited manufacturers, and worked really hard to develop our pet food range.
But the more I worked with pet food manufacturers and learned about the industry from the inside, the more it disgusted me; what I observed and learnt about the pet food industry is horrifying, shameful, and tragic.
Despite the fact that the company that I co-started was becoming successful, and we were even named the innovation of the year for the pet industry award, an event where industry giants such as Pets at Home for the UK were named alongside us in other categories, I chose to stop.
What I observed and learned in the pet food industry taught me that the pet industry doesn't care about our dogs' health.
That experience operated a massive shift in me, and I decided to start a career in canine nutrition.
I completed my studies in canine nutrition in the UK, and became a certified canine nutritionist, CMA registered in the UK, where I do a major part of my work.
Over the past two years, I've dedicated my life to reading, analyzing, and synthesizing more than 1000 scientific studies on how diet affects canine health and longevity, the link between nutrition and disease development, and prevention and the vital role of the microbiomes in every aspect of canine health.
I studied the structure and composition of the canine gut microbiome, which determines our dog's health and longevity. I have written 105 in-depth, science-based analyses of the 25 most common diseases in dogs, the role of diet in their development, the changes in the gut microbiome and the different microbiomes of the canine body, including genital, nasal, and skin microbiomes associated with those diseases.
My research was significantly influenced by Charles Schanbel (1895-1974), a world-renowned chemist who identified the presence of vitamins and minerals in wheat grass and numerous other cereals.
Mr. Schanbel conducted one of the most impressive and intriguing studies on how nutrients from whole foods affect living organisms.
He rescued dying hens who were in such horrible shape that they were virtually lifeless.
He only gave them sprouted and grounded wheat for three months, with no other food.
Not only did those hens healed completely, but they also began to lay an average of tree times more eggs every day and became stronger and healthier than any other hens he had ever observed.
Mr Schanbel's research has been utilised to create billions of supplements for both human and animal usage over the last 75 years.
My area of search and specific interests are oriented toward how whole living foods affect our dog's health and lifespan, that it's not the nutrients themselves that are important, but their sources, and that not all nutrients are created equal (natural versus synthetic ), the hazards of synthetic nutrients to our dogs' organs and cell functions, and how a fresh, nutrient-complete plant-based diet may extend our dog's life and allow us to make them disease proof, avoid chronic and inflammatory conditions, and treat existing ailments.
Through my research, and my work alongside world-leading figure in nutrition, including Carole Dougoud Chavanne, who has over 48 years of experience in living nutrition, I've learned loads of valuable knowledge that isn't commonly discussed in nutrition, let alone in canine nutrition, but is vital to our dog's health and longevity, from biochemical mechanisms of nutrients found in raw foods, the complex nutritional co-factors found in nutrients, of which synthetic nutrients don't contain, but a nutrient cannot be recognized nor properly utilized by a body, humans or animals, without it.