A Journey into Pet Nutrition with Stephanie Krol

Exploring the Intersection of Education, Publishing, and Animal Wellness

Dr. Stephanie Krol, a global authority, shares her journey from academia to pet nutrition advocacy, challenging misconceptions and empowering pet owners.

Stephanie Krol is not your average authority in Higher Education Administration. With over 25 years of global experience, she has left an indelible mark not only in academia but also in the realms of publishing, pet nutrition, and animal wellness. As a distinguished professor, speaker, curriculum developer, and dean, Dr. Krol has navigated the complex landscape of education with unparalleled expertise, even co-owning a national real estate school. But her influence doesn’t stop there.

Delving into the world of publishing, Stephanie has emerged as a #1 best-selling author and the visionary founder of Riley-Infinity & Lemniscate-Infinity Press, offering boutique publishing services. Her commitment to animal health led her to become a certified raw dog food nutrition specialist, pet health coach, and functional medicine practitioner. Her impact extends beyond words on paper; she actively advocates for the well-being of pets, leveraging her extensive background in equestrianism and veterinary technology.

In a recent interview with Reader’s House Magazine, Dr. Krol sheds light on her journey into pet nutrition and wellness, a path born from personal experience and a desire to leave a lasting legacy. Her insights challenge common misconceptions, urging pet owners to question conventional wisdom and prioritize their furry companions’ health. Through meticulous research and a dedication to education, Stephanie empowers pet parents to make informed decisions, advocating for a future where holistic pet care is readily accessible.

As the landscape of pet nutrition continues to evolve, Dr. Krol envisions a world where pet health coaches and nutritionists play a pivotal role in guiding owners towards optimal care. Her mission is clear: to champion a paradigm shift in how we nourish and care for our beloved pets, ensuring they thrive for years to come. Through her expertise and unwavering dedication, Stephanie Krol stands as a beacon of knowledge and compassion in the realm of animal wellness.

What inspired you to delve into the topic of pet nutrition and wellness?

What you read in my book started right there in the vet office when I refused to accept their prognosis and took my dog’s health into my own hands. It’s super scary, but when you refuse to let your dog go, you take big risks to get big rewards! It turns out my method; I chose was the most healing and least risky, but it sure didn’t feel that way with all the traditional advice I was getting so I sought the top people in Holistic Veterinary Medicine, Homeopathy, and Chinese Medicine to see what my options were,  and it turned out, that my choices were the safest, least risky, and most focused on health, wellness, pain removal, and healing. 

I am a Dr., educator, functional medicine practitioner, and a researcher, and I have put all my decades of experience in research and examination to find real solutions for pet owners, not to mention, my years of coaching humans into healthier lifestyles, and being a Vet Tech. in my first job for three years, and avid Raw Dog Food Nutrition Specialist, also played a role in what I found. Having a doctorate of any kind really, certainly helps read, run, and convey research and statistics and my terminal degreed had many such courses, so I was able to weed through everything as quick as possible to save my boy.

I applied this experience to my dog. When I saw what it did for him, I became convinced that I needed to share it with the world. There are too many dogs out there right now who are suffering. They’re itchy, inflamed, losing the bounce in their step, and prematurely aging. Every meal of overly processed, cleverly marketed commercial pet feed, every toxin we put into their systems and on them because it’s convenient, and every so-called treatment, pill, or potion we give them can be stealing their health and shortening their years. That’s not okay. You and I can do something about it—for our dogs.

The other reason for the book was purely mine. I had realized one day and was asking myself what matters, did all the education, working three jobs through college, going full time, being a Dean of Schools, Professor and educator for a couple decades all now matter, and when we get to that forty mark we all start asking what matters and what did matter and after thinking about all I have done, I started asking myself, how does one leave a legacy, and how does anyone know once we are gone after a certain period that we were here, and I came up with paying gobs of money to put my name on a library or hospital or funny enough, to write a book that goes on to infinity, and it just so happens I ended up naming my publishing services company with the word infinity, and I just realized that, for different reasons riley-infinity.com, so it’s amazing how we end up where we are at times doing what we are doing, and as we all know, books go on to infinity, because when we go we have to will them to someone for the royalties, so that’s also why I wrote my book, to leave a legacy and I felt it was the reason I was here in this world, to help reverse pain and disease in pets and prevent it before it happens.

How did you go about conducting your research for this book?

Initially, I sought the top people in Holistic Veterinary Medicine even internationally, Homeopathy, and Chinese Medicine to see what my options were, and it turned out, that my choices were the safest, least risky, and most focused on health, wellness, pain removal, and real healing. I then applied what I learned from my doctorate, weeding through the research, from everywhere I could find on how to reverse disease states, what causes it, and how the body heals. I used my certifications in Raw Dog Food Nutrition, Functional Medicine, and previous knowledge as a Vet Tech. I have had a dog since I was born as I arrived home to my first puppy right from the hospital, and have had one my entire life, minus on year when I moved to another state. I have also had two horses from like 10 years on and rode horses and competed professionally from seven years on for 25 years, so I also had more pet knowledge, unfortunately it was in the traditional sense, so I really had to quickly learn what was the most appropriate thing to do, to heal my boy.

Can you share any personal anecdotes or experiences that influenced your approach to pet care?

Originally, I was very traditional minded; I had three degrees from traditional schools, was schooled in quantitative methods in my doctorate, and really believed testing and application, and vaccination and antibiotics were necessary. I wasn’t until I know how well I had taken care of my boy and started titering at three years old and in fact I had run a genetic test as he had been getting allergies, and it showed that out of 300 different genetic issues that cause disease, he had none. So what I was being told by top veterinarians, of which I knew were showing me test after test, needle biopsy results, and ultrasounds, just made little sense. I was also not given straightforward answers and was told, well, it’s called the practice of medicine for a reason, and a light went off. 

You see, he was fed the best organic raw dog foods, stopped unnecessarily vaccinating him early on, gave proof of titers instead and he had perfect filtered water, no chemicals in the house or in the backyard, and I even washed his feed from subdivision walks from other people who spray their yards and they told me out of nowhere at age 11, and also being the first time he was ever sick that he had 3-4 months to live with or without surgery and if I don’t do surgery to remove his spleen it will kill him, and while they are in there they will check the liver etc. That was really it verbatim, so none of it made sense, and he was the type of dog that would walk into a clinic immediately traumatized from a vaccination experience when he was just a baby a veterinarian gave him a shot in the leg and he was in pain for two days barely walking and from then on it was panting, sweating, drooling and well, I know surgery, a clinic, fighting with them to let me stay would be nearly impossible and I really felt that in itself might kill him more. So, that’s when I delved, into learning everything I could, setting up consultations, researching journals and medical testing, literally everything I could find and settled on a species appropriate diet to heal him while removing all toxins, and taking the drag off his body so he could heal, and he did.

What do you consider to be the most common misconceptions about pet nutrition, and how does your book address them?

The biggest misconception is that people see commercials on tv with amazing marketing, but don’t separate the marketing from the actual product. They hear things that sound and make the assumption; they care about my pet, so it’s good. Or they hear one piece of information that sounds good, like more real meat, and think, oh that’s best, I will choose that one, without looking into how pet food is really made, where it comes from and that it is really pet feed.

The other side I see, is they love their vet because they smile at them and are nice to their dog, just simply assuming that person has their pet’s best interest in mind but never step back and think, they are running a business and providing good customer service at that’s likely it. They don’t ask, what is your background, did you have any nutrition courses, where did you go to school at, and we should ask that in the sick care (health care) industry for people too, because just because someone with a degree says, it’s safe and has a white coat, doesn’t simply mean they are right, the test could be wrong, the data could be skewed, you could have someone with little experience in that area or new and they could do their best, but I always suggest 2nd and 3rd opinions for all things because that is exactly what it is, is an “opinion” and people forget that when someone is nice to them. It’s so critical and important for pet owners to ask questions, get informed and do not follow someone just because they are nice, have a white coat and a degree, they really have to get the data, the understanding behind how they got there and what basis they are forming their “opinion”.

My book addresses a lot of these misconceptions and more, as well as vaccinations, raw feeding, species appropriate feeding, how to biologically feed and why, even the stages of cancer creation to raw bones and many other items even for puppies and cats, and I do my best, to provide the latest data and research from top journals and professionals and veterinary schools, so people can learn the knowledge, but most importantly, learn why they need to ask the questions, get informed so they can make the best decisions for their pet. I certainly tell my story, but I don’t tell anyone to do anything. I educate, provide research and fill in all the blanks traditional care misses and a lot of it is because it’s not their job truly. Many, many people are misinformed on what type of veterinarian to go to for what, meaning, broken legs, uncontrolled bleeding, surgeries, drugs and vaccinations among other things obviously and specialties, well that’s traditional medicine, and health, wellness, nutrition, then you’re looking for anything from a dog or cat coach, to a holistic veterinarian, or a raw dog food nutritionist specialist like myself, but that’s also why you have to ask questions and be informed so you know where to go to help your pet also, because unfortunately in the field clinicians aren’t educating clients when they come in or sending them home with things to read or explaining these differences, they roll right into the issues and the appointment rather than asking first, is this client in the right spot, is this issue really for me to solve and that’s the biggest thing missing in the industry and the educating of pet parents, so I have attempted to do so with my book, so pet parents know where to go, for what and to the correct person if they are looking for true healing, nutrition or drugs. For example, Europe and other countries combined have pet nutrition as part of their curriculum as opposed to the US with just four, so it’s easy to memorize those things or look them up before your consultations, that way you also know who to go to for what.

In your opinion, what are the key factors pet owners should consider when selecting food for their furry friends?

Is it commercialized pet feed?

Is it raw food?

Is it cooked food?

Then, where does it come from, is it organic, is it human grade, or pet grade or does it have synthetic undigestible supplements and what all of all of that means, then they can determine what it all means, and if what they are putting in and on their dog is disease creating or health creating and if they evaluate foods that way, and what is really best for their loving pet, they will easily know how to keep them happy, healthy and bouncing for joy, because at minimum that’s certainly what our pets deserve for all the love, loyalty and devotion they give us, not to mention the items we mess up accidentally and they forgive us.

How do you envision the future of pet nutrition evolving, and how can pet owners stay informed about the latest developments in this field? 

Gosh, pet nutrition is evolving constantly, even if you googled raw dog food, or fresh pet food or maybe even organic raw dog food, you will see so many options, all of course better than those dried, synthetic, dehydrating foods often available on the cheap. I do think people are opening their eyes more to what they see and questioning many things now, whether it’s for them or their pets, so this is a super time to truly educate pet parents as they are much more open to it and seeking valuable information. 

I’d love to see a pet health coach at every traditional clinic, as you may have noticed a lot more, in traditional medicine for people. Pet coaches, Pet or Veterinary nutritionists, Raw Dog Food Nutrition Specialists, Pet Food Consultants, Animal Wellness Coaches, and the like, so people could go there as needed and get informed to make the very best decisions for what they put on and in their pet because it certainly matters as it does for us, we are eating and doing things that create disease or health and wellness and it’s no different for our pets!