Friday, Aug. 01, 2008

Donation Helps Food Bank Feed Dogs, Too

By Nicholas Sakelaris

Staff Writer

Hard economic times have forced some low-income pet owners to make some tough decisions.

Do they give the dogs human food or give them up altogether?

"They’ll take food off their own plate," Andrea Helms, spokesperson for the Tarrant Area Food Bank.

Christina Howard, owner of the newly opened Three Dog Bakery in Southlake, donated 500 cases of gourmet dog food to the food bank so area pet owners won’t have to make such sacrifices.

"There are a lot of people who are giving up their pets, " Howard said. "We’re trying to help them so they don’t have to make that choice."

Depending on the dog breeds, the $9,000 donation will provide between 3,500 to 5,000 meals for area dogs, Howard said.

The Tarrant Area Food Bank acts as a central distribution center for Tarrant and 13 surrounding counties. They provide food to local pantries, like GRACE, senior centers, low-income day-care programs and more.

The food bank typically receives pet food donations along with bigger contributions from grocery stores.

They were ecstatic about the contribution from Three Dog Bakery.

"If their pet is taken care of then [the pet owners are] more likely to get all the nutrition they need," Helms said.

That includes elderly people who have a dog as their only companion.

Three Dog Bakery is based in Kansas City and has 57 locations across the country and around the world. The Southlake store is the first location in Texas, but the company has plans for seven more in the Metroplex alone.

Shoppers at Three Dog Bakery can browse high-end, freshly made treats for their dogs and at the same time make a donation to needy pet owners.

Treats at Three Dog Night include pupcakes, lickety-splits [shortbread cookies], drooly dream bars [peanuts and whole wheat treats] and ruffles [like truffles]. None of the treats include chocolate, which can be toxic to dogs. The fresh treats are kept refrigerated in a case that rivals a French bakery.

The store, in the Shops at Southlake in front of Central Market, also carries the We Pitty the Kitties line of cat treats.