Raw By Design

Man's Best Friend
Submitted by Ellen Moore with Keith Bowles

Man’s best friend is a common phrase used to describe domestic dogs referring to their multi-millennia long history of close relations, loyalty. friendship and companionship with humans (Wikipedia), Pablo Neruda, the renowned Chilean poet penned it best, Wherever I went, he followed me.

He moved away from the firelight like a shadow, I sat and leaned against him and he loved me. It is safe to say that there are not many people who understand the sentiment or the relationship between people and dogs better than brothers Keith and Ray Bowles.

Living on a picturesque parcel on Goose Hill Road you can find Keith enjoying the company of his family, including six furry, four-legged members, Lucy, Teddy, Luna, Mocha, Igor, Tony and remembering their beloved Stella, their first fur-baby who started it all, and sadly passed away last fall. Among his extended family, Keith is not a lone lover of dogs. Ray and his family have one dog, Peach, and two grand-dogs. Bailey and Axel, who spend a great deal of time at their grandparent’s house. The Bowles’ parents live nearby in Huntington with their dog, Oliver, and Keith’s and Ray’s sister who lives in North Carolina, has two dogs, Rocky and Hank. Keith added delightedly, “we might be described as dog crazy!

Ray, who lives with his family in his childhood hometown of Farmingdale, is a Doctor of Chiropractic in practice for over 30 years. Always with an eye on health and well-being for all, Ray is a firm believer in raw or minimally processed food for dogs to live a long and healthy life. After putting his Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Peach, on a raw diet over 5 years ago, Ray saw immediate changes such as, her shinier coat, improved muscle tone, reduced allergies, more energy, and just overall improvement in health and vitality.

With a canine lineage such as this, it is not surprising that Keith and Ray developed a vision to open a dog-focused business in Cold Spring Harbor Village. In June, their vision came to fruition with the opening of Raw by Design. The focus of Raw by Design is centered around dogs’ health and well-being. Keith explained, “we believe dogs were meant to eat raw.

He further expanded, “Dogs are carnivores and should eat a diet of predominantly meat because their bodies crave protein and they need to eat raw muscle, organs, fatty tissue, and bones and research shows that the typical dried kibble is mass produced and is cooked at high temperatures, which destroys the vitamin, mineral, and enzyme content that a dog needs for maximum health and therefore, provides little nutritional value for dogs.” Keith went on to say “our family has been feeding our dogs raw for many years and have seen first-hand the health benefits, and with zero or minimal processing, a raw food diet provides all the nutritional benefits and none of the byproducts that are harmful to your dog’s health.” The benefits include, a healthier, shinier coat, pearly white teeth, lean muscle mass, improved weight management and digestion with less waste; everything you would expect from a species-appropriate diet without fillers and highly processed ingredients. Keith stated, “at Raw by Design, we want to share this information with all the dog lovers in Cold Spring Harbor and beyond.

Keith and Ray decided on Cold Spring Harbor Village for their business location because they know firsthand that the Village is a vibrant, walkable community that is extremely dog friendly. They feel the decision was an easy one based on the many friendly and welcoming opportunities the Village has to offer. Besides stocking varieties of natural dog food and natural treats, as well as, dog paraphernalia, the brother’s plan for their space to include a beautiful and safe courtyard where people can bring their dogs and browse the store. They also plan to incorporate several events using the outdoor space. They see the area as a perfect place for organizing and supporting adoption events for shelter and rescue groups, hosting birthday parties to remember for pups and their friends, and scheduling group training sessions with a certified dog trainer, which they know from experience will be a well-attended feature. Displaying hands-on experience and knowledge it is easy to understand why the mission of Raw by Design is the belief that every dog should eat a species-appropriate diet for increased energy, vitality, and overall well-being, so that they may benefit from the results of healthier teeth and gums, shinier coats, improved skin, and reduced vet visits. Ultimately, healthy dogs are happy dogs!