There are now so many brands out there that choosing the right one can be confusing. First of all it's very important to check that the product has the Aloe Science Council's Seal of Approval. Without that you have no guarantee that what you are buying is bona fide. I also think it's preferable ? don't you? ? that the company marketing the aloe vera does not test its products on animals. Far better if it has tested them on humans to establish that they are safe for use on dogs!

If the drink also has a Kosher rating and the approval of The Islamic Society, then those are extra pointers to its purity. Best, too, if it is grown organically and taken only from plants at least four years old. On top of all this, if the drink is a gel rather than a juice and is backed by an unconditional 60-day money-back guarantee, we really have nothing to lose, have we?

Out of over 200 varieties in the aloe plant family, Aloe Barbadensis Miller is the ?true? Aloe Vera ? the one credited with healing properties. The ancient Greeks and Egyptians cottoned on to this plant as a healer long before even I was born! It's said that Cleopatra used it in her beauty regime and that more recently Gandhi drank it to keep his strength up while fasting.

So why give aloe vera to dogs? It contains over 75 different nutrients, including anthraquinones, vitamins, minerals, enzymes and amino acids. It is a natural anti-inflammatory, said to improve ?well being? and to boost the immune system. It has no detectable side effects.

Why give aloe vera to dogs? My Beardie, Sam, had stiff limbs when I introduced him to a particular aloe drink. He was eight and old before his time, possibly because he half-lived in water all year round. As our cottage was on a Welsh peninsula he had plenty of scope for watery activities and, more often than not, the sea was freezing cold!

I must admit that, having tasted the drink, I expected resistance since Sam was finicky to put it mildly. But oddly enough when I first poured 60 mls of aloe vera gel onto his food he ate with more enthusiasm than I'd seen in him for quite a while. Was his doggy instinct telling him that he was on to a good thing?

I reckon it was, because he absolutely thrived on the aloe drink. As well as seeming to improve his appetite, within two weeks Sam's stiff limbs were just a memory. He was soon bouncing around as only Beardies can bounce and I quickly had fellow dog-walkers asking incredulously: ?What on earth are you giving him??

Yes, that's how obvious the improvement was! And the drink didn't just help Sam, but all his friends to the best of my knowledge: an arthritic Rottweiler, a cat with cystitis and a dog with digestive problems, just to name the first three who tried the aloe drink.

Why give aloe vera to dogs? Let me end with the fact that Sam's vet was so impressed that he asked me how he could access the products at wholesale for his other patients! That said, of course it's important always to take advice from a vet before using any form of complementary preparation.