On July 8th, Broadway Barks returns to Shubert Alley for the 25th anniversary of the star-studded dog and cat adoption event, which benefits New York City animal rescue groups. The event, co-founded by Bernadette Peters and Mary Tyler Moore, features Broadway celebrities who use their star power to help find loving homes for animals in need from 24 NYC area adoption and rescue groups.

As part of the milestone anniversary, Peters will host the event with satirist and animal lover Randy Rainbow and with a special appearance by Josh Groban.

Produced by Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, the adoption event takes place in Shubert Alley (located between 44th and 45th Streets, between Broadway and Eighth Avenues). Barks begins at 3pm with a ‘meet and greet’ of all the adoptable pets; from 5–6:30pm, adoptees make their Broadway debut on stage alongside some of Broadway’s favorite stars for the celebrity presentations.

Over the past 24 years, more than 2,100 dogs and cats have grabbed Broadway’s spotlight and the hearts of all who come to the event. Approximately 85% of these furry friends have successfully found forever homes.

Broadway Barks is free and open to the public. Proceeds from the event benefit the participating shelters and rescue groups.

Celebrity participants lending their support include, in alphabetical order:

Clyde Alves (New York, New York)
Annaleigh Ashford (Sweeney Todd)
Maria Bilbao (Sweeney Todd)
Rajesh Bose (Life of Pi)
Steven Boyer (Kimberly Akimbo)
Kevin Cahoon (Shucked)
Victoria Clark (Kimberly Akimbo)
Kevin Del Aguila (Some Like It Hot)
John Dossett (Wicked)
Andrew Durand (Shucked)
Leandra Ellis-Gaston (Six)
Gina Ferrall (Leopoldstadt)
Avery Glymph (Life of Pi)
Josh Groban (Sweeney Todd)
Adam Heller (Some Like it Hot)
Robyn Hurder (A Beautiful Noise, The Neil Diamond Musical)
Ayana Jackson (MJ The Musical)
Zoe Jensen (Six)
Taylor Iman Jones (Six)
Carol Kane
Ashley D. Kelley (Shucked)
Sean Allan Krill (Parade)
McKenzie Kurtz (Wicked)
Mark Lotito (Some Like it Hot)
Michael Maliakel (Aladdin)
Tatiana Maslany (Grey House)
Marsha Mason
Michael Mastro (Funny Girl)
Alli Mauzey (Kimberly Akimbo)
Michael McCormick (A Beautiful Noise, The Neil Diamond Musical)
Howard McGillin (Parade)
Laurie Metcalf (Grey House)
Bonnie Milligan (Kimberly Akimbo)
Paolo Montalban (Funny Girl)
Anne L. Nathan (Funny Girl)
Bebe Neuwirth
Michele Pawk (Wicked)
Linda Powell (A Beautiful Noise, The Neil Diamond Musical)
Colton Ryan (New York, New York)
Angie Schworer (Some Like it Hot)
Jennifer Simard (Once Upon a One More Time)
Emily Skinner (New York, New York)
Bri Sudia (A Beautiful Noise, The Neil Diamond Musical)
Will Swenson (A Beautiful Noise, The Neil Diamond Musical)
Paulo Szot (& Juliet)
Betsy Wolfe (& Juliet)

Photo by Daniel Roberts, © Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

The truth is homemade dog food is always better. Even as humans, we would want to stick to the home-cooked meal instead of eating junk all the time. But when it comes to pets, you need to feed your dog a wide range of meals, from the best wet and dry dog food. Even raw food that gets pre-packaged is also better.

You could be thinking if there is any difference in preparing meals for your dog at home. It could be that your pooch requires a specific diet. Also, it could be that your pet is a fussy eater. Home-cooked food can benefit your dog in more ways than one.

Homecooked foods will not have any chemical additions that can impact the dog’s health negatively. When pet owners cook dog food at home it is healthy and filled with the nutrients that the dog needs.

What do the findings suggest?

Today, you will come across sample suggestions in matters related to dog food. However, only you can understand all that is ideal for your dog. You will not reach here easily. It takes several trials and errors, more so when you have a new dog. It is perfectly fine to try new dog foods and stick to home-cooked foods as well. One of the several advantages of preparing the dog meals is that you will know the ingredients that have gone inside it. The pre-made dog food is always good. It is a convenient and easy way to ensure that your pet is acquiring all the essential nutrients. And it could be that you haven’t come across the brand that you prefer. Some foods might have excess salt and less protein content. However, in terms of indigestion, homemade dog food ensures that you have total control over each detail.

When you wish to prepare dog meals from scratch, know that it will take some time. Probably a person will have to cook it. There is a chance for it to get a little costly, more so when you want to food to be organic and raw. Therefore, you need to see all that you can get with the required budget.

And while it was not completely unknown back in the past for the owners to feed the dogs with the same food that they consumed; a few things are a tad bit different today. Everything also depends on the diet, and the dog wouldn’t obtain all that they require from its vegan diet. Most pet owners are also opt-in for homemade dog food for upset stomach that their dogs are suffering from. It is because homemade food can help to repair the inflamed tissues in the stomach and get the pet back to its normal health at the earliest.

Is it healthy to have homemade dog food?

While there isn’t any challenging scientific proof that attests to this statement, you will find that there are certain advantages to the same. Here are some of the benefits of homemade food:

• Whole foods

When you make use of homemade dog food, you have the chance to choose the whole-food ingredient that you can eat all by yourself. You also have complete control over the ingredients and know where they get sourced from. Hence, there is nothing to fret about the food recalls. You know how it all got prepared.

• Less processed food

There is a chance for the ingredients to get provided in several ways, such as broiled, steamed, raw, baked, and many more. It would help if you catered to the cooking preferences or the individual palate of the dog. The cooking processes you will use in the kitchen are less invasive than other methods that change entirely the same. Hence, the amount of food processing is significantly less.

• A mix of fresh ingredients

Instead of offering a similar highly processed food every day, you might integrate a broad mix of ingredients into the dog’s daily food. It will help to make mealtime inviting and interesting.

• Specifically customized recipes

One of the primary advantages of making homemade dog food than opting for commercial food is that the diet can get customized to offer the apt nutrients and calories that cater to the dog’s body weight, age, and other health problems. You have the chance to choose a wide range of fresh food components to cater to the particular needs of the canine companion, such as discerning palates, dietary allergies, and weight management. But it could seem simple for developing homemade food for your pet, but the process is a little challenging. But with the correct guidance, you can get it done to perfection.

Things to know before opting in for homemade dog food

• Offer a balanced diet to your dog with all the nutrients

Humans and dogs have different nutritional needs. Hence, it is necessary to offer a diet that gets balanced with the best nutrients required to optimize the dog health. All these nutrients comprise calories that help keep the dog’s weight at bay. If there are excess nutrients or far too few, it can make the dog fall sick. That aside, there can be issues like obesity, malnutrition and in extreme cases even death.

• Find out a reliable and verified recipe source

It is necessary for the dog’s health to offer nutrients in the right amount for averting deficiency or excess. And while there is availability for the standard homemade dog food online, in magazines, books, not every recipe gets checked to ensure that it is balanced in terms of nutrition. You need to get in touch with a vet or a vet nutritionist to ensure that the recipes get balanced for catering to the dog’s nutritional needs.

• You must follow all the recipes precisely

When you have the nutritionally balanced recipe for the dog, ensure that you follow it correctly. Here the cooking processes have a role to play. This is because roasting, steaming, and even boiling the food can alter the nutrient composition, that can result in a balanced diet.

Substituting and adding the ingredients, such as using a chicken on top or replacing the chicken and choosing beef in a particular recipe, disturbs the diet and can create a risk of offering excess or insufficient nutrient content. Developing many balanced recipes using the consistent professional source can enable you to provide a vast mix of ingredients while ensuring that you cater to the dog’s nutritional needs.

• Make sure to use high-end and safe ingredients

Several foods, such as raisins, grapes, macadamia nuts, and chocolate, can be toxic or unsafe for a dog. Hence, when you are preparing the meals, it is necessary to know about the ingredients. You also need to purchase the ingredients of the same quality that you will want to purchase for yourself. It is essential to be wary of the source as well. For instance, the ingredients bought online can come from several locations and manufacturers, which can differ based on the product quality. It would help if you stayed consistent with all your ingredients for preparing the dog food.

• It is a matter of commitment

It would help if you took the time preparing a healthy meal for your dog. That means it will need your commitment. Here you can start by preparing for the dog meal a week in advance. You can, for instance, prepare a huge batch during the weekend and divide that in meal portions for every day. It will bring down the time that you had to devote daily. In addition to that, you can choose freezer-friendly recipes. Hence, the big batches can be prepared well in advance and stored for future consumption.

You will require dog supplements for balancing the meals

Adding homemade food supplements in the dog meal adds balance to it in terms of minerals and vitamins. You must follow the required guidance from the vet to ensure that the food you are preparing has adequate nutrients to help grow and give strength to the dog. Feeding your dog with food that lacks the basic nutrients might result in health problems. Your vet can provide the necessary guidance about the dog food supplements needed and the leading brands to choose from.

• You need to shift your dog to homemade food eventually

It is never easy to switch a dog’s diet. Especially if it’s to a homemade food regime from the commercial diet. If done incorrectly, it can result in gastrointestinal upset. It would help if you made subtle changes to the dog food diet. The change shouldn’t be drastic. Instead, it should be done over a few days to ensure that the dog’s stomach gets adjusted to the new mix of food. There could signs of nausea, minimized appetite, change in bowel movements, and vomiting. When that happens, you should get connected with a vet at the earliest.

Once you become aware of these factors concerning preparing homemade food for your dog, you can decide better and ensure that your furry friend is all happy to consume it.