Chatting
with:
Kari Harendorf of Animal Planet’s K-9 Karma
By Susan Palmquist
If you’ve turned on your TV during the daytime for some
channel surfing, you may have already seen a show on Animal Planet
called K-9 Karma. It’s all about celebrating the special
bond and connection we have to the animals in our lives. K-9
Karma follows hosts Kari Harendorf and her dog Charlie on their
daily activities around New York City.
Harendorf is a registered yoga teacher who owns East Yoga studio
in the East Village. There, she not only teaches regular yoga
classes, but along with Charlie, offers DOGA, a yoga class where
humans can practice yoga with their dogs.
Focus on natural living
After watching just a few episodes of K-9 Karma, you soon realize
that Harendorf embraces everything healthy natural living is
all about. I recently had the pleasure to chat with her. Being
a big fan of the show, the first thing I just had to ask her
was how K-9 Karma came about.
“It’s one of those things where everything comes
together,” Harendorf says. “I’d been teaching
the DOGA class, and the press got to hear about it. A producer
from Los Angeles just happened to be in town the day The New
York Times ran a story about us, and he decided to stop by. He
was on his way back to LA to pitch an idea for a new show for
Animal Planet, but after seeing the class he decided to ditch
that and pitched an idea that turned into K-9 Karma.”
Harendorf, originally from Toronto, Canada, came to the United
States to attend New York University, where she received a BFA.
Her ambition was to be an actress and a vet.
In fact, Harendorf and animals have a long history. She says
she was the person strays always followed home, and animals have
definitely played a significant part of her life. She’s
been an emergency vet technician and animal trainer.
As well as Charlie, she and her husband have three other dogs.
Although Charlie is the main dog featured in K-9 Karma, his sisters
also get to take their turn in front of the cameras.
One episode followed Harendorf into a store to pick up food
for the dogs, while another featured her meeting with a nutritionist
in Whole Foods to show her what dogs should really be eating.
“I try to keep their food as organic as possible and hormone-free,” says
Harendorf.
And natural
health care for animals is also a priority. One episode showed
Charlie getting acupuncture at the vet’s
office. In another, Harendorf and Charlie visited a store in
the East Village that sells homeopathic items for pets.
A cruelty-free lifestyle
Because of her love for animals, it’s not too surprising
that Harendorf is a vegetarian and has been one since she was
just 13 years old. She says she didn’t want to eat animals
and has always had an interest in eating what’s good for
you. “I took a nutrition class in third grade and it was
eye-opening. I went home and said no more sugared cereal and
no more pop with dinner, just skim milk,” she says.
Harendorf
is a new mom and says K-9 Karma was actually filmed during
her pregnancy. She is undecided if she’s going to
raise her daughter as a vegetarian. “I really would like
her to make that choice for herself. I don’t want to force
it on her,” she says.
And for people
who are thinking about becoming a vegetarian, she says there’s so much information out there these days
that you can’t really go wrong. “It’s a personal
decision,” she says. “You have to do what you can,
take baby steps and do some research. Read books like ‘Nutrition
for Dummies.’”
She told
me that some viewers have e-mailed her and said they’d
love to follow her example, but because they don’t live
in big cities, resources are limited. “I tell them start
their own co-op or carpool to the nearest health food store,” says
Harendorf.
And as for exercise, she feels yoga is the ideal choice because
it addresses the whole person.
“It’s great for your body and spirit, it’s something
you carry with you all the time and it teaches you we are all
really one big community,” she says.
Although K-9 Karma has yet to be picked up for another season,
Harendorf has lots of projects in the works. She wants to tour
different states giving demonstrations of DOGA and is also putting
together DOGA DVDs so people can practice DOGA at home.
You can visit East Yoga Web site at www.eastyoga.com. Reruns
of K-9 Karma can be seen every weekday on Animal Planet at 11:30
a.m. and 2:30 p.m Eastern Standard Time.
© Susan
Palmquist
NFO Food Editor Susan Palmquist is a freelance writer specializing
in food, wellness and money-saving topics. Her work has appeared
in publications such as Psychology Today, Budget Savvy magazine
and American Profile. She writes a weekly column that can be
viewed every Friday at GardenAndHearth.com and
a new monthly column called “Budget Smart” for Let's
Go!.
