"He became very poorly," Mrs Smith said. "The vets didn't know what was wrong or how to help.

"He couldn't keep his food down and was wasting away in front of us."

Kevin and Sarah Smith adopted their Labrador Wilberforce from Battersea Dogs Home (Image: Supplied)

In "absolute desperation", the couple scoured the internet for a solution, which is when they discovered the BARF diet.

BARF - Biologically Appropriate Raw Food or Bones and Raw Food - is a nutritional approach for dogs and cats designed to mimic their ancestral diet by focusing on raw meat, bones and vegetables.

It typically contains a mix of muscle meat, raw edible bone, secreting organs like liver, and small amounts of fruits and vegetables.

The couple decided to ditch shop-bought canned dog food, pouches and kibble and began making their own raw mix.

Couple Kevin and Sarah Smith, founders of the We Love Raw dog food company (Image: Supplied)

"It was like it was a miracle food for him," Mrs Smith said. "He quickly became stronger and stronger, and stopped being unwell."

It led them to start their premium raw dog food company, We Love Raw.

"Our food replicates a wild predator's diet," Mr Smith said. "It's based on a book called the BARF diet, which was written by a vet who had seen a decline in dogs' health and an increase in intolerances due to kibble and dried food.

"Nutritionally, dogs rely on eating meat and bones. Dried food, like kibble, has a very high percentage of grains, potatoes and complex carbohydrates, and is not as nutritionally loaded as a BARF diet.

"People really see the difference with our food."

We Love Raw's dog food (Image: Supplied)

The couple, neither of whom eat meat themselves, say We Love Raw has gone from "strength to strength" since relocating their home and the business from Hertfordshire to Norfolk three years ago.

The pair and their four Labradors now live in Tasburgh, near Long Stratton, with the business based in Besthorpe and employing four people locally.

The team at We Love Raw - Harry, Ryan, Robin, Richard with Kevin - outside the company's Besthorpe base (Image: Supplied)

"We buy from local farms and local producers," Mr Smith said.

"We love being here in Norfolk. We've turned ourselves into a real Norfolk business, which we're really happy about."

© Eastern Daily Press