I have a golden lab named Janus who is nine years old. He has had arthritis for the past four or five years. Over this time he deteriorated to the point where he could hardly get up the basement stairs and was very stiff and in pain when standing after laying down for long periods. It has been at least three years since he could jump into the back of our pickup. We either lift him in or carry stairs with us.

Since being on this diet, Janus has lost over 20 pounds, is now running, and has even jumped into the back of the pickup without assistance.

I make the Lentil-Sunflower recipe in large quantities (2 25-pound bags of lentils at a time) and then bake them into loaves and freeze them. That way I only have to make dog food once a month, or even less.

I was told one year ago by a vet that Janus wouldn’t last more than a year. My present vet tells me Janus is in excellent shape.