In an age where information is not only abundant but relentless, the ability to discern fact from fiction has become one of the most critical skills of our time. We live in an era where misinformation, half-truths, and deceptive marketing bombard us at every turn, and nowhere is this more apparent than in the field of health and wellness. Finland, a global leader in education, has recognized this challenge and taken steps to address it. In Finnish classrooms, students are now taught media literacy as a core skill—how to identify fake news, detect propaganda, and avoid being misled. These lessons go far beyond digital competence; they speak to something much deeper: the need to develop a discerning mind capable of filtering through the noise and finding the truth.

This lesson from Finland, focused on critical thinking and the pursuit of truth, is one that applies not just to our media consumption but to how we approach the health of our pets. Just as Finnish students are taught to deconstruct falsehoods and examine the credibility of information, I, too, had to go through my own process of unlearning and relearning when it came to pet care. This was not an easy journey. It was one fraught with hard realizations, a reexamination of deeply ingrained beliefs, and ultimately, a transformation of how I understood health, both for myself and for my animals.

Like many in the pet care field, I was taught to follow conventional advice without question. As a veterinary technician, I was trained to promote monthly heartworm medications, yearly vaccinations, and kibble-based diets as the foundations of pet health. For years, I believed this was the gold standard—until it wasn’t. The turning point came 15 years ago when my own poodle, Momoci, began to suffer from the very treatments that were supposed to be helping her. Despite following all the prescribed protocols, she developed severe seizures, and her liver began to fail, a result of the medications I was taught to trust. Her prognosis was grim—she had only months to live. But what unfolded over the next decade taught me a powerful lesson about the limits of conventional wisdom and the importance of looking beyond it.

Faced with the possibility of losing Momoci, I did what I had never done before: I questioned everything. I began to explore alternative approaches to pet care, ones that weren’t driven by convenience or commercial interests, but by nature, biology, and science. Despite her initial diagnosis, Momoci went on to live another 10 years. She thrived because I was willing to see outside the box, to unlearn what I thought I knew and embrace a new way of thinking about health. Sometimes, it takes a bad situation to wake us up, to shake us from our complacency, and force us to seek better answers.

The process of unlearning is profound. It’s not simply about rejecting old ideas; it’s about being willing to reexamine them through a critical lens and understanding that the foundations upon which our beliefs rest may not always be solid. It’s about confronting the unsettling possibility that the systems we rely on—whether in pet care, healthcare, or society at large—are often designed to prioritize efficiency and profit over well-being. In the same way Finnish students learn to question the narratives they encounter, I had to question the deeply ingrained practices of the pet care industry.

I began to dive into species-appropriate diets, holistic approaches, and the body’s innate intelligence—an intelligence that is often overlooked in favor of quick fixes and superficial solutions. What I discovered was transformative. I realized that much of what we are taught about pet health is based on convenience and compliance rather than what truly nurtures and supports an animal’s well-being. We vaccinate too frequently, feed our pets diets that are biologically inappropriate, and rely on chemical interventions that may solve short-term problems but create long-term harm.

Through my studies in canine and feline nutrition, glandular therapy, and natural rearing practices, I learned that the shortcuts we take with our pets’ health often lead to chronic conditions such as neurological disorders, autoimmune diseases, and gastrointestinal issues. These issues are not just unfortunate side effects—they are the direct result of an industry that prioritizes ease and uniformity over true wellness. Much like the propaganda Finnish students learn to debunk, the mainstream pet care narrative is riddled with half-truths that mask the deeper reality: our pets are paying the price for our adherence to these outdated and often harmful practices.

But unlearning is not about abandoning all practices or rejecting everything we’ve been taught. It’s about becoming more discerning—about asking smarter questions and being willing to accept that the answers may not always align with what’s popular or profitable. Just as Finland teaches its students to sift through misinformation, I had to learn to navigate the overwhelming amount of conflicting advice in the pet care industry. I had to develop the ability to distinguish between what was truly beneficial for my dogs and what was simply a convenient solution packaged as health.

This journey led me to create Danube Adornments and Pawlicious Pantry, where I’ve dedicated myself to providing pet owners with high-quality, natural products that reflect the principles I’ve come to believe in. My business, much like my approach to pet care, is built on the idea that health is not something that can be outsourced to convenience. It must be nurtured from within, through mindful practices that honor the body’s natural rhythms and needs. At Danube Adornments, we employ small-batch freeze-drying techniques, source meats from local farms that never use pesticides or hormones, and offer products designed to align with what nature intended for carnivores.

My mission is to help others filter through the noise—to unlearn what isn’t serving their pets and relearn what will allow them to thrive, not just survive. Just as Finland’s media literacy programs empower students to protect society’s most valuable asset—the truth—I hope to empower my clients with the tools to protect their pets’ most valuable asset: their health. True wellness is not about convenience; it’s about alignment. It’s about aligning our actions, our care, and our choices with the body’s natural processes, supporting its ability to heal, and avoiding the toxic overload of modern life.

But this path is not an easy one. It requires a willingness to confront uncomfortable truths, to question the systems we’ve been taught to trust, and to do the hard work of educating ourselves about what truly serves our pets’ well-being. Unlearning is a journey that never ends because the world is always changing, and new information is constantly emerging. What matters is that we remain open to relearning, to adjusting our practices in ways that foster true health.

For me, this journey has redefined not only how I care for my animals but also how I live my life. It has taught me that discernment—the ability to separate what is truly beneficial from what is merely marketed as such—is perhaps the most powerful tool we have. Whether it’s the media we consume, the healthcare practices we adopt, or the pet care routines we follow, discernment is the key to navigating the complexities of the modern world.

Just as Finland equips its students with the ability to seek truth in a world full of deception, we must arm ourselves with knowledge, critical thinking, and a willingness to question the status quo when it comes to health and wellness. Only then can we move beyond survival to a place of thriving. Only then can we give our pets the life that nature truly intended for them—a life full of health, vitality, and balance.

Unlearning is not a one-time event; it is a continuous, evolving process. It is the work of a lifetime, but it is also the key to a life well-lived, for both ourselves and the animals we care for.

The journey of unlearning is indeed continuous, a constant recalibration in a world that often pushes us toward the easy answer, the quick fix, or the conventional path. But as I learned with Momoci, it is precisely in the moments of crisis—when conventional wisdom fails us—that we are forced to dig deeper, to seek alternative solutions, and to trust in the body’s inherent wisdom to heal if given the right tools. It was in that moment of crisis that I began to realize the profound gap between what I was taught and what I was experiencing firsthand. And that realization fueled my commitment to unlearning, relearning, and ultimately rethinking the entire paradigm of pet care.

As with the Finnish model of teaching students how to navigate misinformation, the process of unlearning in health care—whether for pets or for humans—is about empowerment. It’s about taking back control of the narrative, refusing to accept surface-level answers, and engaging with the deeper truths that have been obscured by convenience, marketing, and outdated systems. This is especially critical in an age where the choices we make, whether in the foods we feed our pets or the medicines we administer, are often driven by industry interests rather than the true well-being of the animals we love.

One of the most striking insights I’ve gained from this journey is that health, whether human or animal, is not something to be managed or controlled through external means alone. The body—if supported properly—has an extraordinary capacity for self-regulation, healing, and balance. But the key lies in giving it what it needs and removing the obstacles that hinder its natural processes. This is why I now focus so much on species-appropriate diets, on avoiding unnecessary medications and vaccinations, and on nurturing the body’s ability to thrive from within rather than relying on external interventions.

It’s tempting to think that the solutions to health challenges come in the form of pills, procedures, or packaged products. But, as I learned through Momoci’s journey, true health cannot be achieved through shortcuts. It requires a deeper understanding of how the body works, what it truly needs, and how to align our care with those needs. When we fail to provide this, when we rely too heavily on convenience or assume that “one-size-fits-all” solutions will suffice, we see the consequences—chronic illness, shortened lifespans, and diminished quality of life.

This understanding is at the heart of my approach to natural rearing. My goal is not just to extend the lives of the animals I care for, but to ensure that those lives are rich, vibrant, and full of well-being. I’ve learned that when we shift our mindset from managing symptoms to fostering true health, the results speak for themselves. Momoci’s extended years were not just a victory over a grim prognosis; they were a testament to the power of natural, species-appropriate care and the incredible resilience of the body when supported correctly.

But this journey isn’t just about individual pets—it’s about changing the broader conversation around pet care. It’s about helping others understand that they, too, can filter out the bad and embrace the good. Too often, pet owners are bombarded with conflicting information, aggressive marketing tactics, and a sense of urgency that drives them toward decisions that may not truly serve their pets. My mission is to help them pause, to think critically, and to make informed choices that honor the well-being of their animals.

The importance of discernment in pet care cannot be overstated. Whether it’s choosing the right food, the right medical treatments, or even the right breeder, the ability to question, research, and critically assess options is crucial. Just as Finland’s students are taught to question the validity of the information they consume, pet owners must learn to question the sources of advice they are given. Are these recommendations rooted in a true understanding of what’s best for the animal? Or are they driven by convenience, profit, or outdated thinking?

One of the most common misconceptions I encounter is the belief that convenience equals care. The idea that feeding a commercially prepared kibble is sufficient, or that annual vaccinations are non-negotiable, is deeply ingrained in the pet care industry. But as I’ve seen time and time again, convenience often comes at a cost—one that manifests in the form of chronic health problems that could have been avoided through a more thoughtful, natural approach. This is why I advocate so strongly for species-appropriate diets and minimal interventions. It’s not about rejecting modern advances; it’s about using them in a way that complements, rather than disrupts, the body’s natural processes.

This philosophy of care has shaped not only my personal approach to raising poodles but also the very essence of Danube Adornments and Pawlicious Pantry. Every product I create, every treat I offer, is a reflection of the principles I’ve come to hold dear: that true health is a matter of balance, that nutrition is foundational, and that we must respect the natural intelligence of the body. My freeze-dried treats, sourced from local farms, are designed to provide pets with the nutrients they need without the toxic additives or unnecessary processing that dominate so much of the pet food market. Each product is a small step toward fostering a life of vitality, not just survival.

But just as important as the products themselves is the education that comes with them. I’ve made it my mission to help pet owners understand the “why” behind the choices I advocate for. It’s not enough to simply offer a better product—I want to empower my clients to make better decisions overall. To do this, I provide guidance, tips, and support that help pet owners make sense of the overwhelming amount of information they encounter. I want them to feel confident in their ability to discern what’s best for their pets, to trust in their own judgment, and to move forward with the knowledge that they are giving their pets the best possible chance at a long, healthy, and fulfilling life.

Ultimately, unlearning and relearning is about empowerment. It’s about taking back control of the narratives that shape our decisions and reclaiming our role as informed, thoughtful caregivers. Whether it’s navigating the complexities of media, as Finland teaches its students, or navigating the complexities of pet care, the principles remain the same: critical thinking, discernment, and a commitment to seeking the truth.

In a world full of noise, shortcuts, and misinformation, the ability to filter out what truly serves us and our pets is perhaps the most important skill we can develop. It’s what allows us to move beyond survival, beyond the quick fixes, and toward a deeper understanding of health and wellness—one that is rooted in balance, respect for nature, and a profound trust in the body’s capacity to thrive when given the right tools. This is the path I have chosen, and it’s one I hope to inspire others to walk as well.

Only through unlearning can we relearn what it truly means to care.