A Holy Calling for Healthier Pets

Heaven Sent Healthy Pet is ready to help you get your pet started on a species appropriate raw food diet

By JOE JANCSURAK

To hear Vicky Glisson tell it, God played an important role in the launching of her Heaven Sent Healthy Pet (HSHP)  business. Hence, its name.

HSHP opened in April 2024 at 1930 Carolina Beach Rd., but the idea for the raw pet food supplies business (more on the raw food  trend later) came to Glisson 10 years ago, along with an endorsement from the Holy Spirit. Glisson, a dog breeder, was driving puppies to Raleigh with a friend. As they discussed the new-business concept, Glisson felt “the Holy Spirit’s strong approval” of the idea and its name.

In 2019 the Jacksonville, Fla. native and mother of five, began sharing her passion and knowledge of raw food diets for pets as owner of HSHP online.  It took off from there and has grown steadily since.  In 2024, she felt the prompting of the Holy Spirit to open the retail store in Wilmington. After much thought about the idea, she stepped out in faith and started the process.  “I’m a fish out of water when it comes to retail business, but I love helping people, and even more, I love helping pets get healthy,” she says. “Our first year has seen quite the learning curve but it has been the start of what I foresee as a very fulfilling journey.”

Species-appropriate raw food diets are exactly what the name implies, and include raw meats, bones and herbal supplements. Offerings include the 80/10/10 package for dogs and cats—80 percent muscle meat, 10 percent edible bones and 10 percent organ meat—and tailored packages for puppies and kittens.

“The raw pet food diet concept isn’t new,” says Glisson. “After all, people have for hundreds of years fed their pets table scraps, bones, etc. Pets were much healthier then.  But it wasn’t until about 10 to 15 years ago that the trend began gaining popularity and it was mostly the brave DIY’ers that fed raw. The trend really began taking off four to five years ago with pre-made raw foods, which has boosted the popularity of the raw food diet due to the convenience of ‘thaw and feed’ type brands.”

While some warn that such diets leave pets prone to food-borne illnesses, Glisson has been feeding her dogs a raw food diet for more than 14 years and says she has never had one of her own dogs get sick from raw food.  

Instead, she says, such diets result in stronger immune systems and better pet health and often save pet owners money due to lower vet care costs.  “This isn’t surprising when you consider that raw meat has always been the natural diet of wolves,” from which dogs are domesticated descendants, she explains. 

Getting Started

For many, the thought of starting their pets on a raw food diet is both foreign and daunting. Recognizing that, Glisson takes time to ask questions of new customers to gain an understanding of the customer’s needs and raw food knowledge and experience.  “Everything is packaged for beginners and it’s really simple and easy to get started,” says Glisson. “We also have plenty of the base needs and extras for the DIY’ers.”  Assisting her are part-time volunteers Leigh Dewitt–a former veterinarian technician of 30 years and Great Dane breeder–and Breanne Holmes, a certified raw pet food nutrition specialist. Both are very knowledgeable about raw feeding and tailoring meals to many health conditions. 

“Once we know more about the customers’ experience, we are able to direct them to the food  packages and services that are best for their pets,” says Glisson.  Currently, HSHP serves about 600 in-store and online customers, which she says represents much of her business. For large breed dog owners—herself included, with over 20 Cane Corsos in her breeding stock—Glisson directs them to her Cape Fear Cane Corso YouTube channel, where she demonstrates how to feed dogs a raw diet “without breaking the bank.”

HSHP also serves as a weekly site for a mobile provider of holistic veterinary care whose services include chiropractic, acupuncture, laser and herbal therapies. The holistic care is a perfect fit for HSHP, whose website borrows these words from the Book of Proverbs: “A righteous one has kind regard for the life of his animal and understands his soul.”

For more on HSHP and its raw pet food, visit heavensenthealthypet.com