Years in the making
The story, the beliefs, the years behind it, and what it all means for your dog.
THE APPROACH
Sophia: Your Nutrition Friend
I'm Sophia, a Certified Pet Nutrition Coach, and I'm here to meet you where you are financially, practically, emotionally. No shame, no rankings, no guessing.
What I Believe
I believe every dog is different, and I mean that literally, not as a nice sentiment. Ten genuinely good foods can still be wrong for one specific dog. And I believe judgment never changed anyone's mind. Meeting you exactly where you are does.
I say that because I've seen how many amazing pet parents there are, and how much they want the best for their pet. Nutrition is part of that. There's a real gap in what a lot of amazing pet parents actually know about what their dog is eating.
I grew up in a house that took nutrition seriously for the humans, no soda every day, eat your vegetables, but the dog's food was whatever came home from the Costco haul. We loved our dogs completely. It just never occurred to me their food was supposed to be any different. That's the real gap. Not a lack of love. A lack of the topic ever coming up.
I get why it's nerve wracking to look closer. I put off my own annual checkup for the same reason a lot of people do, and with dogs the timeline is shorter, so the stakes come faster and so do the results. I'm never going to ask you to overhaul your dog's diet overnight. I believe in meeting people where they actually are, financially, emotionally, however that looks for you, no judgment, ever. My philosophy is full of small wins that add up to one big one, a splash of water in the bowl, the carrot ends that would've gone in the trash anyway. Most of what I recommend isn't expensive, and it usually saves you money. Everyone wants to help their pet. Some days all you want is a quick answer, not a deep dive, and that's fine too. Whatever pace you want, I'm here.
Expertise & Heart
I'm a NAVC Certified Pet Nutrition Coach, RACE approved.
From the moment I got into this industry, I loved it, and I wanted to keep pushing my knowledge and expertise further. When I moved to Los Angeles, I became the in-house nutrition coach at TailWaggers, training staff across every location and sitting in on trainings that brands brought in directly. I also went through extensive additional training with brands themselves, covering kibble, canned, gently cooked, raw, treats, toys, harnesses, all of it. A lot of what these brands teach never makes it to the average consumer. I'm lucky to have that kind of access, and I bring it into every consultation.
Years of live consultations, one customer after another, let me work with so many people and their pets long term. I got to see how things actually played out. Real patterns in how certain breeds are predisposed to certain health issues, how a specific food or recommendation actually helped, both the pet and the person.
There were a lot of hours behind that. Blood, sweat, and tears, and I don't regret a single one of them. Staying up later than I probably should have some nights, giving everything I had to whoever walked through the door asking for help. That's what built the foundation I work from now.
My interest in ingredient science, and in how dogs and cats actually function, is a real passion of mine. If someone wants to know the why behind a recommendation, kidneys, liver, skin, allergies, tear stains, urinary issues, digestion, I'll walk them through it.
I went full time on Simply PetWell in December 2025, after years in this industry doing the real work I'd already been doing. My passion was always in the specifics: nutrition, lifestyle, play style, breed specific needs, getting people prepared for vet visits so they could actually make the most of that time with their veterinarian. A lot of that was happening after hours, writing up reports, sending explanations over text and email and phone calls late into the night. I was already giving every person and every pet my full attention. Going full time just meant I could finally do it the way I'd always wanted to, with years of experience and real success behind me, in my own business. And it's what's led me to what's next: I'm building something that puts all of this in your pocket, more on that below.
How I Actually Help
Even when we're paying close attention to our pets every day, it's hard to see the patterns when you're that close to them. A little itching becomes "that's just how he's always been." Loose stool becomes normal because it's been going on so long nobody's really noticing anymore.
Here's how it usually goes. You buy the food you always buy, everything's fine, and then your dog starts scratching more, maybe the ears smell off, maybe there's some vomiting. You go to the vet and walk out with a monthly allergy shot, a prescription food that costs twice what you were paying, and ear medication on top of it. That might genuinely be the right call. But almost nobody stops to ask the other questions first. What's this dog's breed, and what are they predisposed to? Their age, their weight, their actual day to day life? What have they eaten before, and what's actually changed recently? Is this an allergy or a sensitivity, because those aren't the same thing, and they don't get treated the same way.
That's what I actually do. I look at all of it together, not just the symptom in front of me, and I ask specific, curated questions instead of generic ones, because the answers usually point somewhere nobody expected. I once had someone convinced their dog needed a whole new food after two years on the same formula. Turned out it was fleas. A few days of real prevention and the itching was gone. Another time, a dog's anxiety and chewing looked like it needed medication, but it turned out to be a high energy breed only getting walked twice a week. More exercise and a little enrichment at home solved it, no supplements needed.
I love veterinarians, and a lot of the time their plan is exactly right. What I offer sits alongside that, a nutrition and lifestyle view that looks at the whole picture, not just the one symptom in front of us.
A Real Example
George is a 5 year old Frenchie mix. When his owner first came to me, he was eating freeze-dried raw chicken patties from a genuinely good brand. But George was dealing with loose stool, drinking a lot of water after meals, throwing up sometimes, and licking and itching at his paws. His owner figured that was just George.
Instead of jumping straight to "switch the protein," I asked more questions. What George was eating, how long, what his water intake actually looked like around mealtime, whether the itching came with anything else. What we found was that the freeze-dried format needed a lot of added moisture, and George was compensating by drinking large amounts of water right after eating, which was contributing to the vomiting. The itching pointed toward a possible chicken sensitivity.
We moved Geroge to a gently cooked turkey and salmon recipe over seven to ten days, added pumpkin for fiber support, and built in a calm period after meals instead of letting him go straight into play. Within a week, his stool had firmed up, the vomiting stopped, his water intake normalized, and he got noticeably more excited about mealtime, enough that his owner started using it for training.
The itching improved too, but not entirely. A flare-up a bit later turned out to have nothing to do with food at all. A lapsed flea and tick routine was the actual cause. That's part of the point. I don't assume every symptom is a diet problem, and I'm not going to tell you it is when it isn't.
What Simply PetWell offers today
Today, that looks like the PetWell Dog Nutrition & Wellness Consultation: a $179 whole-dog consultation designed to give you a clearer picture of your dog and what actually makes sense for them. There’s no preset plan or universal answer. Before we meet, I review your questionnaire and create a personalized written report around your dog’s nutrition, health, lifestyle, history, breed, and your real life at home. You receive it before our 45-minute video or phone call, so our time together can be spent talking through the why, answering questions, and figuring out realistic next steps.
You’ll also leave with three tools to keep using: a stool and symptom log, a daily food transition tracker, and a customized vet prep sheet with questions and topics based on your dog that are worth bringing to your next appointment. They’re there to help you notice patterns, make changes with more confidence, and get more out of the time you have with your veterinarian.
Ultimately, the goal isn’t to give you more to worry about. It’s to help cut through confusing advice and marketing claims, understand what matters for your dog, and feel more confident making proactive choices that support as many healthy years together as possible. Less second-guessing, more enjoying your dog.
This is educational guidance, not a replacement for veterinary care. Always work with your veterinarian when making decisions about your dog’s health.