All the treats are freshly baked from all-natural ingredients, ensuring that they taste good to pets and are also good for pets. The treats are then sold either at local markets, door-to-door, or through Facebook orders.
Love Doggo Treats appeared at the Polk County Sheriff’s Office to donate their homemade treats. The children were able to feed some of the shelter animals and even meet the Honorable Sheriff Grady Judd.
Emry Dykes and Robert Norris, who have Down syndrome, and Mia Linamen, who has Autism, are high school classmates. Inspired by their love for dogs, they all came up with the idea of creating their own small business selling pet treats.
While these young entrepreneurs’ parents and families offer their assistance, the three friends, even despite their disabilities, are more than capable of doing almost everything on their own from preparing and baking the treats to packaging and selling them.
“They do it all,” says Brandy, Emry’s mother. “We help them when they need it, but they do it all overall…they love working together, and they also love going out and socializing when they sell them.”
Cindy Lineman, Mia’s mother, says the pet treat business gives their teenage children an opportunity to achieve their entrepreneurial endeavors while also giving back to their local community. They have a mission to give back to certain charitable organizations and to raise awareness in society.
Wanda Norris, Robert’s mother, knows that her son and his friends wanted to start this business because of their shared love of pets. Not only does it allow them to do something fun together through a shared interest, but it also teaches them life skills.
“They are building up their confidence that they can run their own business. It helps to bring awareness of people with disabilities and enhance their ability to be entrepreneurs,” she said.
Love Doggo Treats has grown so popular and successful over the past four months that demand has surpassed what they can produce in their home kitchen. As such, they are seeking local sponsors to help facilitate the cost of their operations.
Brittney Oakes, a former special education teacher, is one local who agreed to serve as a sponsor. As someone who works with special needs children, she is more than willing to jump at a local opportunity to assist them, which is why she has worked alongside Love Doggo Treats for the past month.
“It is so important to teach life skills and be hands-on with them, so I am excited to be a part of teaching them the processes and skills that they need to apply and real-life situations,” she said. “My hope is that the community can come together and support this cause. I enjoy seeing the success that these kids are making. This is a great thing for them.”