Baking a better biscuit

Five years ago, Victoria McDowell lost a loved one -- her dog.

McDowell had done everything she knew of to keep her English Staffordshire bull terrier healthy, including feeding it prescription dog food. But Cheyenne Jasper still died of a rare form of cancer.

McDowell blames the dog food, which she said was full of preservatives and other chemicals.

"I was distraught," said McDowell, 49, of Jackson. "I thought, 'There has got to be a better way.' People don't know with regular dog food, they're poisoning their dogs day in and day out."

McDowell cut Boxer Biscottis from the dough before baking another batch of dog treats.

McDowell believes she has come up with a better way to feed her dog. And yours. McDowell has started Miss Autumn's Barkery, a business in which she makes her own dog food, then markets and sells it in stores around town like Cup 'n' Cork, My Daddy's Cheesecake and the All Natural Food Store.

"People are used to feeding their dogs anything," McDowell said. "And dogs are getting sick. This product came out of wanting to do better for our pets."

McDowell makes her dog foods and snacks, which she describes as gourmet, from all-natural, all-organic ingredients. For her dog biscuits -- she calls them biscottis -- she uses all-natural stone-ground flour, toasted wheat germ, and all-natural broth, butters and eggs.

Then she tinkers with the basic treat to make them special. For example, the boxer biscotti is dipped into a special white yogurt imported from out of state. For Parm Pooh treats, she imports a special parmesan from Italy. For another kind, she adds peanut butter.

She's been feeding her other two dogs these treats for five years, and she's noticed that the dogs are not overweight and have shinier coats, more effective digestive tracts (less doggy doo, in other words) and more energy.

McDowell admits that such special treats for a dog will prompt some to roll their eyes. But she points out that while people make choices about what they eat, a dog can't.

McDowell is also working on a getting her dog food into stores. Currently, only the dog treats are in stores.

At My Daddy's Cheesecake, owner Wes Kinsey said the treats -- which sell at $2 apiece -- are selling slowly. But he says it may just take some time for people to get used to the idea.

Also, Kinsey admits that he and some other employees tasted the treats.

"It tastes like a dry granola bar," he said. "It isn't bad for a dog treat."

At Cup 'n' Cork, owner Barry Robinson said the treats are not selling at a brisk pace.

"But she's got an interesting product," Robinson said. "It's all organic. People see them and ask about them. They're curious. They're just not buying a bunch of them yet."

That's why McDowell is working to get the word out. She's working on getting the treats into Petco. She's also working to expand her product line, including a pet beverage, which is basically a water-based drink that tastes like things pets like, like chicken and beef. She also intends to send some samples to Oprah Winfrey, with hopes to put them on her show.

"Dogs are dying at 10 years old," she said. "They don't have to. Feeding them right is a great start."

smoyers@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 137