Working Title: vegandogandcat.com
Name: Trudy Pachon
E-mail Address: trudypac@gmail.com
Date:10-15-09
Course and Section: Ed Tech 541 Thursday 7 PM Section
I have found that there is not a cohesive web site that explains in very simple terms why it is OK to feed companion animals vegan food. When I first put my dog on vegan food, I was really afraid it was going to hurt her or something because there is so little information about it out there. There is plenty of "common knowledge" (ie. misinformation) that a vegan diet for a dog is not a good idea. I have had people actually tell me I am abusing my dog by feeding her vegan food. It was really hard when I first started. I imagine it is for other vegan people who do not want to kill other sentient animals because they like their dogs better than cows, pigs or chickens. It is possible and healthy for a dog to be vegan too. Cats are more difficult, but possible as well.
Five years later, there is much more information, but the sites should be linked and there should be a place where vegan dog and cat people can come to find out about how to implement this diet in their own animals.
Hypermedia and multimedia are the only way to address these needs because our community is very small and very diverse. We live in every part of the world, and don't have any other means to communicate with one another.
The intended audience for this site will be the vegan community, vegetarian community, and anyone else who is interested in wholesome, healthy food for their companion animals which does not conflict with their values and morals.
The technical skills will run the gamut, but because we are such a small community, we have to use the web to communicate with one another and find out basics about how to feed ourselves and our companion animals. I think in general the audience will be somewhat above average in their use of internet resources.
I interviewed Dr. Sabina De Giacoma, a vegan veterinarian and no-kill animal shelter director, several other vegan friends, and non-vegans who are interested in why it is not dog or cat abuse to feed companion animals vegan food.
The general consensus was the following:
I think that the best way to access this information will be with lots of links to good information, maybe some videos and pictures of people with their vegan companion animals. I will be including our recipes for vegan dog food and treats.
I will provide a navigation system that will easily direct the curious and the serious to the information they need to learn how to be vegan, how to feed companion animals vegan food, and why they should care in the first place.
The site will most likely be accessed from home during leisure time. I believe they should have relatively fast connections and sound and video should not be a problem because the site will not be accessed from work.
Any recipes or information can be copied and printed using a printer. I may include pdf versions of some of the recipes.
The resources for the site are mainly links, and original content such as recipes will be created by myself and my partner. We have video footage and photos of dogs and will have links to those posted on youtube.com. Any original content will be written by me, and based on my knowledge and facts will be cited using texts I have in my possession or web site links.
Users will want to come to my site to find out more about how to feed their dogs and cats vegan food. I will have recipes, link to videos on how to make the food, and have links to interviews with knowledgeable vegan animal caretakers and veterinarians. I will include fun videos of vegan dogs as well.
I also think my web site will attract people that are just interested in the vegan lifestyle, and who may want to see pictures and videos of vegan companion animals. I am hoping to attract and share information with a wide group of people.