If you’re one of the 3.5 million people lining the streets of New York on Thanksgiving morning or among the 31 million people tuning in to watch on television, keep your eyes open for a senior dog — the remarkable return of Freida the dachshund, Macy’s legendary giant dachshund balloon.
The balloon, retired in 2011, has been lovingly restored and is soaring once again between New York skyscrapers, with a brand-new, brightly colored bandana fluttering around her neck. At 76 years old, it’s safe to say that Freida is a senior citizen in balloon years, but thanks to The Farmer’s Dog, she doesn’t even show it.
The Farmer’s Dog, initially founded by Jonathan Regev and Brett Podolsky, who were inspired to start a company that could produce healthy food for their beloved Jada, has reimagined dog food to give dogs with health conditions and senior dogs a fighting chance for happier, healthier lives. To do it, these founders researched decades of pet nutrition data and consulted top vet nutritionists to create a fresh, convenient pet food service.
What’s unique about The Farmer’s Dog is its website, which helps pet owners determine a specific meal plan at a reasonable price. The planning stage only takes about three minutes, even if you have multiple dogs. Questions are very straightforward: What kind? How old? Temperament? Weight? Activeness? Health issues? Food preferences? Within minutes, the site delivers a recommended trial subscription (at a discount) featuring human-grade meat and fresh vegetables that are ideal for their nutritional needs.
Even more amazing, the new pairing of Freida and The Farmer’s Dog isn’t just about nostalgia and pet food awareness. Since November is Senior Dog Month, The Farmer’s Dog has launched Freida’s Friends, an adoption initiative that might be the most meaningful thing any pet food company has ever done.
By partnering with shelters in every corner of the country, The Farmer’s Dog has hand-selected adoptable senior dogs to showcase in November. These sweet, gray-muzzled pups are the ones who often get walked past in favor of puppies. But this year is different.
Every single one of these dogs is getting outfitted with an official Freida bandana, identical to the one the Macy’s balloon will wear on national television. The bandana will help these amazing dogs stand out in shelters through November 30, along with all the online attention they’ve received on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and everywhere The Farmer’s Dog has a social media presence.
Adopt any one of these dogs before November 30, and newly minted Freida Friends families will receive their first full box of The Farmer’s Dog fresh food completely free and $300 in account credits for future orders. Along with this generously fresh love letter to senior dogs, the bandana comes home, too.
More About The Company Behind The Bandanas
The Farmer’s Dog could have just sponsored a parade balloon and called it a day, like many pet food brands. But The Farmer’s Dog did something remarkable by building an entire adoption campaign around it.
Ask them why they decided to do it, and they’ll tell you: Dogs deserve real food and genuine love, no matter how old they are. They believe, and many vets back them up, that dogs do best when they’re fed fresh food — gently cooked, just enough to kill dangerous pathogens while preserving whole-food integrity.
The food is so fresh, in fact, that every dish offered up by The Farmer’s Dog is legitimately safe enough for people to eat. What’s more, it’s portioned perfectly for your dog(s), shipped frozen, and arrives ready to thaw and serve.
There are no giant bags, scooping, or wondering why your best friend’s dinner smells like a chemical plant. More important, owners start to see the difference in a few short weeks or months. Their pets tend to have shinier coats, better poops, fewer allergies, and a ridiculous amount of excitement at mealtime. (Who wouldn’t?)
No, it’s not magic. The Farmer’s Dog makes food without the garbage, and the results are even better for the dog who needs it most. Over the years, The Farmer’s Dog has collected dozens and dozens of stories about a 14-year-old lab who couldn’t climb stairs but starts happily bouncing up them when called, or the 12-year-old rescue who’d given up on toys that begins to carry one around once more.
These are the kind of stories that make us all question why anyone would spend $2,000 on an orthopedic dog bed but still feed their fur baby that grocery store kibble made with “feed-grade” ingredients. It doesn’t make any sense. Our pets deserve a healthier diet that comes with higher standards.
It’s something to think about. And maybe this Thanksgiving, while Freida the dachshund proves that 76 looks pretty great with proper care, thousands of real-life senior dogs will be coming home from shelters for the holidays, wearing those beautifully bright bandanas and with a meal plan already in place.
Who knows? Maybe that someone is you. Head to thefarmersdog.com/freida to meet the Freida’s Friends near you. One of them has been waiting a long time. Or maybe, if you aren’t ready to take in another gray-faced dog because you have one already snoring on your couch, you’ll rethink their next meal and give The Farmer’s Dog fresh meal plans a try.
Either way, Freida’s flying again, and so are many of her friends. And all of us at All About Spot think that’s pretty special. Thanksgiving is about second chances. And it turns out that parade balloons, senior dogs, and a place to keep pet records have all of that in common. Happy Thanksgiving!
