Interview With a #InstaFamous Dog 🐾

Being vegan on Instagram means that you probably see a lot of dogs in your feed. Well, one of the dogs I see constantly is @Yolandi_Eats_LA. A sassy chihauhau who lives in Los Angeles. She goes to all the best vegan joints around LA, and relays back to her over 2700 followers the best eats, with a little bit of attitude and her own girly style. I always love seeing her in my feed, so I had to reach out to see if she’d be up for doing an interview. She, of course, said yes to being in the lime light! 😉

Yolandi Eats LA

Yolandi dreaming about her next meal.

ALLYSON (ME): Hello

Yolandi, I was wondering, how long have you been vegan?

YOLANDI: I was adopted from the Pasadena Humane Society four years ago. I don’t remember what I was eating before I was adopted, but I have been vegan since my new family adopted me, so 4 years!

A:

‎What made you go vegan in the first place?

Y: To be honest, I hadn’t thought about being vegan before being adopted to a vegan family. But after hearing all the information about eating a plant based diet, I’m 110% on board. Also, my humans sat me down and we did a Google search as to what is in dog food. It’s pretty horrific. The “meat” in dog food, is NOT what you think it is. Scary stuff! I was shocked as to what I was eating! Barf-o-rama!

A:

‎Do you have friends who are vegan and what are their names?

Y: I have 3 brothers and 2 sisters and they’re all vegan and my best friends (most of the time). The boys are Drogo, Duckie, and Peebo. My sisters are Sasha Velour and Patty Potato.

A:

‎People say that dogs are supposed to eat other animals, how do you feel about that?

Y: I don’t understand how people could hurt animals, much less eat them. I mean, hey, I’m an animal! Why would I eat my counterparts? That’s like humans eating humans right? Weird!! Farm animals raised for consumption are abused and then killed in horrible ways. That’s just the truth and that’s not something I want to be a part of. I’m a non-violent chihuahua.

Also people tend to think that dogs are “carnivorous” and can only be healthy and survive on a meat diet. (Which is weird because in most commercial dog foods, the majority of ingredients are grains and vegetables). Dogs are omnivores and can thrive on a plant based diet. I had a sister pup who lived almost 20 years on a vegan diet! I eat a vegan dog food and I eat tons of veggies and tofu too!

A:

‎What is the most memorable dish you’ve had since being vegan?

Y: The entire menu at Little Pine? I love to go to restaurants where I feel welcome and at Little Pine, they’re always so nice to me and have a great patio for pups! If I had to narrow it down, I would say the tofu scramble and grilled cheese are my favorites!

Yolandi waiting to stuff her tiny face!

A:

‎Why are those most memorable?

Y: The tofu scramble is memorable because it’s DELICIOUS! The grilled cheese at Little Pine is always memorable because undoubtedly some always gets on my chin and I find it hours later. Then I remember how much I love the grilled cheese. Memorable.

A:

‎What made you want to start an Instagram account?

Y: Well, I was seeing all these sexy vegan girls posting photos with vegan food. The light bulb went off. I’m a sexy vegan girl and I go out to eat all the time! I just put 2 and 2 together!

I also want to show people that you’re not giving up anything (except killing animals) when you go vegan. You’re not giving up, pizza, or eggs, or cheese, or butter, or milk. The plant based options are so delicious now, no one would ever look back once they go vegan!

A:

‎Do you encourage other dogs to go vegan?

Y: Many dogs have health issues or skin issues that switching to a vegan diet can help! V-Dog is an incredible and complete food for dogs. They have over 40,000 followers on Instagram so that shows that this “dogs eating a plant based diet” is getting pretty popular. Dogs tend to thrive on a vegan diet. I’m 8 years old and had a vet appointment recently, I’m in perfect health! I didn’t even need to get my teeth cleaned! WHAT??!

A:

‎What would you say to a dog who doesn’t think he or she could go vegan?

Y: I would say, “come over to my house and stay a week with me, I’ll show you how!” Lol. Ok maybe that’s not possible. But I would say to go very slowly switching to a vegan diet. Any change in a pup’s diet can cause our stomaches to get upset. But any dog can be vegan. I’ve seen big and small dogs alike be vegan and be very healthy! You really have nothing to lose! You won’t be supporting an industry that harms animals and you will probably be healthier and live longer by not eating the REALLY GROSS stuff in dog food!

Interviewing Yolandi was the most memorable and fun celerity interview, yet! She is definitely on her way to stardom, so make sure you follow her, @Yolandi_Eats_LA! Yolandi really shows how fun and easy it is for people and dogs alike to be vegan. You just have to want to, and research a little bit. Some people will even do that for you, like me! 😁

I would love to interview more of my Instagram fam, but in the meantime Yolandi leaves us with this:

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I have met so many vegan dog friends since creating my Instagram account. They all seem very happy too! We all know that our human parents are taking the best care of us that they possibly can. Going out of their way to buy us quality dog food, instead of letting us eat the junk in regular dog food. I think that all dog owners, who say they love their dogs, should Google what the “meat” is in dog foods. Your stomach will be doing a full gymnastics routine.

Dogs CAN and ARE healthy on a plant based diet. People resist change in all ways. But maybe, just maybe if the change involves your beloved pup, you will be able to take that step and make the change for your dog child.

Tons of love and peace to all!

Yolandi’s glamour shot.