Whether your dog joined you as a puppy, a youngster or you were kind enough to take in an older dog to live out their remaining years, the addition of a four-legged family member is not a decision to take lightly (and too many do). If you’ve ever been lucky enough to have a dog join your family at any point throughout their life, you can no doubt relate to the following story.

My story starts a little over 6 years ago when I met my significant other. We both entered into the relationship with dogs we’d had since they were puppies; mine a Blue Heeler and his a German Shepherd. At the time, my dog, Scout, was 5 years old and his shepherd, Sasha, was just coming 2.

Sasha was a spry, big-bodied, solid black, purebred German Shepherd who would chase a ball all day if you let her. She had a loud, fearsome bark and, between the two of them, I never felt uneasy staying at home alone. We would go on lengthy trail rides and Sasha never missed a beat – right there by our side the entire ride and ready for more.

Life went on and our careers necessitated a move to Colorado. We spent a good deal of our time hiking and riding in the

mountains with our horses and dogs. In the summer of 2013, we took a backcountry camping trip with our entire four-legged family which included a 15 mile ride to a lake above tree line. On the way back, we were still about 3 miles from our campsite and Sasha began to lag behind…way behind.

Eventually, she laid down in the trail and refused to move. We made the decision to put her on one of the horses with me and let her ride back to camp. Oh, we were quite the sight; a 110 pound German Shepherd wedged between my lap and the saddle horn. My horse was less than thrilled but we all made it home alive.

To this point, Sasha had always been at the front of the pack but this incident was the beginning of the end – she was 5 years old. Over the next year, she gradually got worse and was barely able to make it to the end of the driveway without several rest breaks. Her tail quit wagging and she slept all day.

With several vets in the family, we had her evaluated on a few occasions and tried a bunch of the major supplement brands and medications with little to no benefit. We resigned ourselves to the fact that this was our Sasha now and did our best to make her comfortable.

Upon my start with Arenus in late 2014, I read up on our supplement, Steadfast Canine, and, while it seemed interesting, I wasn’t sold. However, the logic and research was there to support both the ingredients and formulation so I decided to give it a shot...not expecting much.

Within 7 days of starting Sasha on Steadfast, her tail started wagging again. Her smiling face would meet me at the door when I arrived home and refuse to let me pass until I spent time doting over her.  Within 3 weeks of her first Steadfast dose, she made the 1 mile walk to the mailbox and back with me and the other dogs with only 2 short stops.

Coming from a university and research background, I decided to run my own little test 1 year into Sasha’s Steadfast regimen. A family vet had gotten some free samples of a well-known joint supplement for dogs so I decided to stop her Steadfast and start her on the other. Within 3 days, she was visibly uncomfortable again and had lost the tail wag.

That solidified it. I was a believer.

Currently, every dog in my house is on Steadfast Canine and I have even managed to find the active ingredient available in a human supplement for myself. In a flooded marketplace with every company offering their version of the next big thing in joint supplements, I, like all of you, was skeptical. Having tried almost all the others, my expectations were low and I was realistic. The fact of the matter is, Steadfast Canine simply works and Sasha is all the proof I need.