Three Dog Bakery, a franchise based in Kansas City, Missouri, launched its annual Feed a Dog Food Drive on May 1st. The franchise consists of over 40 dog treat bakeries. The dog food collected helps feed dogs at local shelters located near each franchise.
Participating stores in the United States, Canada, and in Hong Kong are partnering with local dog shelters and rescue organizations to hold the food drives. Every one dollar that is raised during the event will feed a shelter dog one meal.
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Three Dog Bakery was started nearly 30 years ago with a mission to bake, from scratch, the world’s freshest and best tasting dog treats and provide pet parents everywhere with healthy, natural food that they could feel good about feeding to their dog.
It all started when Gracie, an albino Great Dane, who became terribly ill. Her owners, Dan and Mark, couldn’t find any commercial food that Gracie would eat. They tried everything, even the fanciest foods from the veterinarian’s office. Nothing worked. That’s when they decided to take things into their own hands.
It took a few batches, but Gracie eventually ended up gobbling up the treats that Dan and Mark created in their own kitchen. The pairs two other dogs loved the treats as well and soon they were making them for all the dogs in the neighborhood.
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They began selling the treats on weekends and during their lunch breaks at work. They outgrew their home kitchen and Dan and Mark decided to quit their day jobs and open the world’s first bakery for dogs in 1989. Last year the multi-million dollar company was acquired by a group made up of mostly local investors led by Jeff Fromm, Aziz Giga, and Ken Linge.
Pet food and treats from Three Dog Bakery are made with 100% natural ingredients with no fillers. They use fresh produce like spinach, blueberries, cranberries, and carrots. The protein content in their foods comes from power foods including chicken, peanut butter, and white fish. Some of their treats even include carob chips, a dog-safe substitute for chocolate.
Since the company created the Feed a Dog Food Drive in 2011, more than 50,000 pounds of dog food have been donated to shelter dogs in need. In addition to the contributions collected from customers, the Three Dog Bakery headquarters will be donating 500 additional pounds of food and treats to the three franchise locations that collect the most donations.
