A brand from Crete offers handmade anti-allergic shampoos and bath products for dogs
Discovery
The Met Hotel with its stunning contemporary furniture, sufficiently low for easy dog accessibility, and its dark and moody lighting scheme which conveniently hides any stains we may make, is exceedingly dog friendly. I realize that this enthusiastic recommendation may be considered biased as The Met is affiliated to the family of our mother. However, it was here, that Mother, always with a sharp eye on a watchful hunt for product, discovered Always your Friend. The producers had given their products free of charge to the hotel to offer to such discerning clients who travel with their canine partners. Because Bella and I, Maximus, are both of considerable corporeal volume and we have teeth and barks which may intimidate, our mother never takes us to hotels.
Always your Friend is a line of a canine bath products which we dogs would never voluntarily use as we love to be oily, dirty and faintly malodorous. Aside from the endearingly named shampoos such as Puppy Powder and Fruit Friends, there is also interestingly a shampoo for dogs who are unable to countenance the ordeal of a wet bath. Not to say that I myself like it much, being coerced to go under an almost bruising torrent of warm water or even worse being hauled into a tub where I stick my legs out straight like a protesting sheep as I am lifted into it.
The handmade shampoos are concocted with organic aloe vera, virgin olive oil from Crete and other essential oils. The puppy shampoo is anti-allergic and all the other products have anti in front of them, anti-oxidant, bacterial, fungal and inflammatory. The labels promise protection from eczema, peeling skin and a fragile coat so these products must be good if you absolutely have to have a bath. Though dogs detest cleanliness, we don’t like itching either. The products do not contain any potentially harmful chemicals, detergents, preservatives or additives such as gluten. These guarantees seem very important to humans especially gluten which our mother blames for her increased abdominal fat.
Always your Friend is a line of a canine bath products which we dogs would never voluntarily use as we love to be oily, dirty and faintly malodorous
Memory
Always your Friend is the creation of Eleni Kangelidou from Drama who studied as a medical laboratory technologist. Her research led to the conclusion that what we eat from healthy sources can also be used on our skin to yield extraordinary results. Two years ago, Eleni encountered some puppies playing in the street. One of them was almost crushed by a car ‒dogs become intelligent with time, puppies appear cute but are actually stupid ‒ and was rescued and then adopted by Eleni who named her May meaning pretty in Chinese and good in Japanese. As May had been a street puppy, she was in need of a wash and the Greek pet market offered no gentle solutions so Eleni created her own product. Bolstered by the marketing energy of Angelos Ledakis and Stavros Mastrantonakis on the chemical side, the brand became economically viable and also started exporting.
The handmade shampoos are concocted with organic aloe vera, virgin olive oil from Crete and other essential oils. The puppy shampoo is anti-allergic and all the other products have anti in front of them, anti-oxidant, bacterial, fungal and inflammatory
Narration
Eleni and her team are based in Chania, the stunning harbour town in north western Crete famous for its arresting architecture, winding lanes and municipal market. In that cavernous space you can find all the ingredients of the world renowned Cretan, or in fact Mediterranean, diet such as the coveted virgin olive oil from many premium producers, pulses, cereals and honies. Then there is the fresh produce, not only luscious fruits and vegetables but also all the edible plant leaves gathered by patient old ladies and not only, such as dandelion and amaranth. Eleni’s workshop is in Chania and employs two people. They work with organic and natural ingredients especially Cretan olive oil and herbs to create their product whose excellence I can confirm now that Bella and I are regular users.