OUR STORY · RAW INSTINCTS
It started with Ziggy.
It grew with our family.
Hola, I’m Xilo. Before I made raw pet food for other families, I was trying to help my own dog eat. Ziggy changed the way I looked at his food. Robert and Layla changed our family. And Jesus changed my life.
01 / ONE DOG CHANGED EVERYTHING
Before there was a business, there was Ziggy.
The month Ryan and I brought Ziggy home. The dog behind our first bowl.
In October 2019, my husband Ryan and I brought home Ziggy, our Shiba Inu. His allergies became so bad that his coat looked dull and he scratched at his paws until they bled. For months, we were at the vet’s office almost every other week. It was hard watching the dog we loved go through that.
Ziggy was only about six months old. The recommendations I kept getting were prescription kibble and Apoquel for the rest of his life. I wanted to understand why he was struggling so much, and that is when I began looking more closely at the food I was feeding him. He would barely eat, and we had tried different foods, hoping the next one would be the one he wanted.
Our first step was cooked whole food. Watching him finish his bowl was such a relief. I kept learning, and that search eventually brought me to raw feeding and the prey-model raw approach. Since switching to raw, Ziggy has not been on any medication, and we have not had any more issues with itchy paws or excessive paw licking. I also noticed changes in his stools, skin, and coat. Today, we have a dog who is thriving—and always wants food! That is quite a change from the puppy who barely wanted to eat.
Raw Instincts grew out of those months of questions, vet visits, and learning to look more closely at his food. If you are here because you have tried so much and still want to do more for your pet, I understand that feeling. I wanted Ziggy to feel comfortable, enjoy his meals, and have a better everyday life. That is the love behind this business.
02 / OUR FAMILY, OUR FAITH
Jesus changed our lives—and He is still changing us.
Raw Instincts began before we followed Jesus. When Robert came into our lives, our faith took a turning point. Then God blessed us with Layla. Since then, Jesus has transformed our lives, our way of thinking, and what matters most to us.
He is renewing our minds, making more room for compassion in our hearts, and teaching us to seek His heart in how we live, raise our children, and care for others. We are still growing, still learning, and still seeing His hand in our everyday lives.
Since opening Raw Instincts, I have met other business owners and watched businesses open and close. Ours still stands. God has opened so many doors for us, and we give Him the glory for bringing us this far.
Now, with two children and a business, life is fuller—and sometimes crazier—than ever. Yet we are able to keep showing up for our family and the work in front of us. When I look at everything we are managing together, I see God carrying us through.
If that is not God, I do not know what is.
Xilo & Ryan · Robert · Layla · Ziggy
We pray over every meal we make.
Before these meals reach your home, we ask God to bless the food, the pets who will eat it, and the families who love them. We pray for healing and protection over those pets, trusting God with each life and each prayer.
Our hope reaches beyond the bowl. We want the wholesome food we make, and the care behind it, to open hearts to God. We pray that through our story, someone struggling with unbelief might come to know Jesus and believe that with God, all things are possible.
This business began with our love for Ziggy. Today, we want everything we do through it to reflect a heart that is seeking God.
“A righteous man cares for the needs of his animal.”
Proverbs 12:10
THE WOMAN BEHIND THE BOWL
Miami roots. A family that shaped me.
I was born and raised in Miami. My parents came from Nicaragua, and my second dad was from Cuba. I speak English and Spanish, and I earned my bachelor’s degree in Economics at Florida International University.
Before Raw Instincts became my full-time work, I worked in finance, including at a hedge fund. The business I run today started much closer to home: learning how to feed Ziggy and sharing that experience with other pet parents.
When you ask us about a recipe or your first order, that is the experience I bring to the conversation. I have been the person trying another food, reading the ingredients, and hoping to see an empty bowl.
03 / WHAT THAT CARE LOOKS LIKE
What you can expect from our family.
Raw Instincts is a woman-owned, family-run raw pet food business in Homestead, Florida, with Miami roots. Over five years of preparing food and helping pet parents, these have remained part of how we work.
See what you are feeding
We publish the ingredients and proportions for our blends: muscle meat, organs, raw meaty bone, and fish or produce in select recipes. You can compare the full recipes before choosing a protein for your dog or cat.
Compare our blend ingredientsSmall batches. No HPP.
Our raw meals are prepared without conventional cooking or high-pressure processing (HPP). We keep that preparation choice clear, just as we keep the ingredients clear. Our FAQ explains what HPP means and why we choose non-HPP raw food.
Read about our non-HPP approachHelp with the first bowl
You can compare portions and costs for 25%, 50%, 75%, or 100% raw feeding with our feeding planner. If you are unsure which blend to start with, tell us what your pet eats now and which ingredients you are avoiding. We can help you compare the options.
Ask us where to startA LITTLE MORE XILO
A little more about me.
Travel, golf, and our growing family
I love to travel, and Ryan introduced me to golf. These days, Robert and Layla are part of the story too. The family behind Raw Instincts has grown a lot since that first photo of me and Ziggy.
Still me
First and foremost, I’m a child of God and a follower of Jesus. I’m a wife, mother, sister, daughter, and dog mom. I’m also left-handed, a whole 4 feet 10 inches tall, and my favorite color is green.
FROM THE EARLY CHAPTERS
A look back at how we began.
This is our original Story video, from an earlier chapter of Raw Instincts. A lot has happened since then. Ziggy is still where the story begins.
