Bristol is one picky Chihuahua. She'd take one look at premium kibbles and turn up her nose.

Owner Chuck Kacin said he spent hundreds of dollars on dog food only to toss it out because of Bristol's snubbing. "It was like, 'Do you want this?' No. 'Do you want this?' No. So I'd have to throw it out. It got to the point where I thought I'd have to starve her for a day or two to get her to eat anything."

Kacin, however, didn't want to put the rescued dog through any more trauma. The dog had just survived a forced pregnancy, and her previous owner — a breeder — abandoned her because of the veterinary costs. So when he heard about Marty's Meals, Kacin went straight to the company's owner, Sandy Bosben.

Bosben and her three-woman crew make the all-natural, organic, highly nutritional, raw and gently cooked foods weekly at an Eldorado commercial kitchen.

"I brought Bristol in, and Sandy said, 'Let's see if she'll eat this,' " Kacin said. "And she just gobbled it up right out of her hand."

When he got Bristol, Kacin said, she was in poor condition. "The pregnancy had taken a toll on her, and she was like the skinniest rat you'd ever seen. But now she's filled out, her coat is nice and she has plenty of energy. And what I've noticed is that she doesn't have bad breath."

Kacin's not the only canine owner who's found happiness through Marty's Meals. Bosben, after more than a year of testing the recipes on about 70 dogs, is steadily increasing her distribution points and her customer base as word rapidly spreads. She makes between 200 and 300 quarts of the food weekly and distributes it to customers and pet stores in Santa Fe, Eldorado, Los Alamos and Tesuque. She recently added three Albuquerque stores.

Bosben regularly visits the stores to promote the food, offering samples and information about the products. She'll be at Tullivers Pet Food Emporium, 807 Cerrillos Road, at 11 a.m. Friday and will hold another sampling at Zoe & Guido's Pet Boutique, 607-A Cerrillos Road, at 11 a.m. July 30.

"We've been in the stores about a month, and it's doing well," Bosben said. "We make it on Sundays and deliver it on Mondays, so the food is fresh in the stores."

Marty's Meals comes in a variety of proteins — bison, goat, beef, chicken, turkey and salmon — all mixed in with organic, mostly locally grown vegetables, fish oils and high-quality grains.

Bosben, a former carpenter who worked for a general contractor until the economy crashed, credits her kittens and, of course, Marty, a 14-year-old dog she adopted in California, with sparking her new career.

The puppy had been living a hardscrabble life on the streets, but Bosben worked to improve his health with high-quality kibbles and chicken. But the combination never was quite right, she said.

Eventually, Marty had to have reconstructive surgery on his hind legs, and Bosben learned the dog had a degenerative joint disorder. The surgeries helped, but the dog still suffered and his activities were limited.

The Bosben was introduced to animal-nutrition specialist Zarna Carter, who holds regular workshops in Santa Fe on a nutrition philosophy based on the work of Juliette de Bairacli Levy, an herbalist, author and pioneer of holistic veterinary medicine.

Carter suggested an all-natural diet for Bosben's pets, which worked wonders for clearing up kitty litter odors and eased Marty's pains. He became agile, less arthritic and more energetic. Bosben told Carter she wished all companion animals could have access to foods that improve their lives — and Carter challenged her to start a business.

Initially, Bosben worked in her own kitchen on her test products based on Carter's recipes. "I started out with friends' dogs, and they told others," she said. "I never advertised, but pretty soon I had 70 to 80 dogs."

One of those customers is Nance Ennis, who helps Bosben on Sundays. Ennis said her dog Ramsey was on anti-inflammatory medication for a possible pinched nerve, but after a few weeks on the diet, the dog stopped limping and she stopped giving him medication.

Ramsey looks forward to his meals, she said: "He barks and barks and barks until I put the food down for him."

On a recent Sunday, Bosben, Ennis and two other women were busily cooking, mixing and packaging the foods in an Eldorado commercial kitchen. Trays full of sweet potatoes cooled on a counter.

Chef Bosben was in the midst of mixing a fresh batch of gently cooked beef, adding fresh bok choy that she had chopped in a food processor. She combined homemade chicken broth and other vegetables, using her hands to thoroughly mix it.

Bosben said she's worked hard to line up local farmers to supply her with organic vegetables, which will change depending on the season. The salmon is wild; the meats and poultry are either organically raised or all natural.

"It's all human grade," Bosben said. "I picked up this beef two days ago from the butcher. It doesn't get any more fresh than this."

The recipes are meant to mimic a canine's natural diet, she said. "The whole principle is that you get the nutrition through the food and that it's not processed or from synthetic vitamins."

Bosben encourages people to supplement a dog's diet with small, raw meaty bones, which she also sells.

Local animal nutritionist Richard Patton, who recently published Ruined by Excess, Perfected by Lack: The Paradox of Pet Nutrition, said Bosben is on the right path with her recipes. He endorses her concept of a fresh, raw blend of meat and vegetables.

"As I understand her efforts, she is almost literally bringing home pet-food preparation to the busy pet owner," he said in an email. "She uses ingredients that people are interested in and procures the best possible."

The company also carries a special puppy diet and is working on a menu for cats. Bosben also has a line of dog biscuits and hopes to get the products into restaurants. She recently designed a full menu that features the product with garnishes, desserts and biscuits.

Hugging Marty recently, Bosben said she's still amazed at the older dog's change in health since he's been on the diet. "I do it all for him," she said. "And I want other people to know just how important an all-natural diet is for a dog's health."

MARTY'S MEALS

The premium dog food, raw or gently cooked sells for about $11 per quart. It's available at the following Santa Fe pet stores:

• Barks & Bubbles 
• Critters & Me 
• Eldorado Country Pet 
• Tullivers Pet Food Emporium 
• Zoe & Guido's Pet Boutique 

For more information, visit www.martysmeals.com.