What do you give to your dog on his birthday? Maybe a big bone that will take him a year to chew through? Or some fresh Frisbees or tennis balls? No, those have all been done before.
Three little girls from Brookfield wanted to make a Labradoodle named Pluto one happy little pup on his birthday. Bella Lestina, Lici Camuy and Melissa Solares, all 10 years old, decided to bake Pluto some homemade dog treats with some vanilla flavoring to make sure he had a memorable first birthday.
“I had nothing to give him and wanted to make his birthday special,” said Bella.
The treats seemed to be a hit with Pluto, so the girls decided to spread the doggy goodness around town. When the girls got out of Congress Park School in June they were open for business and All-Star Treats really began to make a profit.
In business for about a month the girls say they have made more than $160, while only charging 50 cents for a small treat, $1 for a medium one and $2 for a large treat.
And if these dog-loving girls haven’t sold you just yet, all of the proceeds will be donated to a local animal shelter, Big Hearts, Little Packages.
“We just really wanted to help dogs,” said Lici.
Big Hearts, Little Packages is a small dog rescue that is completely operated by volunteers and is funded solely by charitable contributions and adoption fees.
“We had to write an essay, and I decided to write about our business,” Lici said. “My teacher read it and told us about this shelter.”
Bella’s mom, Meg Lestina, was in contact with the shelter right away.
“Really, what bunch of neat little girls,” said Tina Meadows, founder of Big Hearts, Little Packages.
“You could say they’re saving dogs one treat at a time,” Meadows laughed.
The donation from All-Star Treats will be used mostly for the medical expenses that dogs need, such as vaccinations and other procedures.
A lot of the girls’ business has come at family parties and local barbecues, but they have recently been walking from house to house and catching passersby at their homemade business stand.
“We want to go to a dog park, too,” said Bella.
The girls plan to keep the business going all through the summer and possibly through the upcoming school year, because the dog treats would make cute Christmas gifts or stocking stuffers, the girls said.
Pluto probably would never have guessed that his birthday present would continue to benefit other dogs.
