Doggy cupcakes, cookies and more can support a worthwhile cause.

PETS & PEOPLE

It's "A Dog's Life":  Home-Baked Pet Treats Also Fill Fundraising Void

 (NAPSA)—He’s licked your face to cheer you up, so why shouldn’t man’s best friend have his own home-baked cookies?

We’re talking dogs, of course.

In one of those wonderfully inspired confluences of interest—treating pets like they were human and raising money for a worthy cause—a fourth-generation baker raised in Avon, Conn., is using his years of experience to perfect everything from cookies to cupcakes to calzones for the fourpaw set. And not only do these spoon-and-bakes look like the real thing, they smell like they just came fresh from the oven, too.

“I was always the kid in the kitchen creating fresh-baked goodies for our dogs from the ingredients we had in the cupboard,” says Greg DeLuca, president and founder of DeLuca Dog and Friends. His company offers spoon-and-bake dough in two dogfriendly flavors—all-natural oats & cheddar and classic peanut butter—each made with humangrade ingredients like whole eggs, rolled oats, peanut butter, cheddar cheese and wheat flour.

So how does the charitable fundraising figure in? Through a partnership with Joe Corbi’s, a giant in fundraising programs, people can now sell DeLuca’s dough to support their schools, churches, sports teams, animal shelters and other organizations.

With pet food now a $15 billion-a year industry and pet snacks alone raking in over $2 billion in sales, DeLuca is confident his products will help fund important causes.

“We’re excited to be a part of this effort,” he says. “People love their dogs and now that love can be a force to help care for others as well.”

In addition to buying the dough through the fundraising program, you can find three pound tubs--enough for 96 1/2 ounce treats or 192 1/4 ounce treats at www.delucadog.com.

The site—where you can designate any organization you want to receive funds based on your purchase—also has ideas for dog themed family baking activities, along with tips and recipes for treats like bite-size bacon calzones, apple pie cookies, and cupcakes with a sweet potato topping and carrot confetti.

The snacks are enough to get any dog’s tail wagging—or at least make him pant. 

Original source: napsnet.com