CORONA: Gourmet dog treat ready for its close-up

TERRY PIERSON/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

PE.com: Jackboy’s Dog Bakery owner Athena Yap of Corona with her dog Kernel and some of the many dog treats she makes in Corona, CA. The all natural artisan doggie pastries are good enough to eat but they are made for dogs.

As the founder of Jackboy’s Dog Bakery, Athena Yap has an uncanny talent for thinking outside of the bone.

And thereby hangs a tale of a former aerospace engineer who used to convert fighter planes into drones. These days she transforms dough into doggie delectables for a clientele that includes the T.J. Maxx Corp.

Now Hollywood has come knocking. Eventually, you can catch one of her cookie creations on a new series, tentatively called “Game of Pawns,” or “Pawn in the Game,” that Yap was told would begin later this month on the Discovery Channel. However, a spokeswoman for them, Emily Robinson, wrote in an email that the cable network hasn’t officially announced the show and there’s no definite air date yet.

Since Yap launched Jackboy’s in Corona six years ago, Jackboy’s has been a hit with customers who have helped double her revenues every year. Yap said sales of her 50 varieties of homemade, all-natural canine confections range from between $8,000 and $20,000 a month.

Clients include pet spas, animal hospitals, groomers, doggie boutiques and gift stores. About 70 percent of her business is online, catering to purists who clamor for Yap’s gluten-free, salt-free, filler-free, dye-free, chemical-free cakes, cake pops, cupcakes, cookies and artisan pastries. They’re made with human-grade ingredients that include honey, olive oil, carob, eggs, roasted peanuts, oatmeal and minimal sugar.

In fact, these pooch products are so good that Donna Kennedy Clark spotted her 3-year-old niece nibbling a Cranberry Bis-Scotties at The Paw Spa she owns at 320 S. Main St. Corona.

“I only carry top-of-the-line natural, holistic cakes and cookies,” Kennedy Clark, 47, said. “Athena cares about every ingredient that goes into them. She even makes her own sprinkles using beets and turmeric for the colors. Customers come in looking for her cookies because their dogs won’t eat any other kind.”

Yap said with a laugh that some people think she uses a fake name enhance her business. Actually, Yap, 40, is Chinese and grew up in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia in an animal-loving family. At 19, she enrolled in Iowa State University in Ames because of its ranking as one of the top schools for aerospace engineering. After graduating, Yap received her MBA during her 15-year tenure in the industry, specializing in composite materials and processes. Her most recent position was supervising four engineers at BAE Systems in Mojave, but Yap wanted to be her own boss.

Her next move became clear after she and her fiancé, Steve Sunde, rescued from the streets a red German shepherd and dingo mix they named Jackboy, “He picked us,” Yap said. She began making her own dog food in 2007 after many animals died from eating poisonous pet food from China containing tainted wheat gluten. But the snacks and treats Yap whipped up really piqued Jackboy’s palate and with him as her chief taster, a business was born.

At their Corona home, Yap experimented, initially mixing wheat flour, canola oil and parmesan cheese to produce her classic twists called Knotty Parmesan. As her research intensified, so did her commitment to the finest ingredients and a ban on artificial colorings, flavors and commercially produced beef and chicken bouillon. She swapped the canola for 100 percent olive oil. “Everything evolved and business began snowballing,” she recalled.

Yap figures she’s invested more than $150,000 to grow the business. In 2009, she rented a commercial unit on Ott Street in Corona. A year ago July she relocated to her current, 800-square-foot site at 109 N. Maple Street, Unit B, where she employs two workers who bake every day but Sunday. Retail prices run from about $6.99 for a 5-ounce bag to a big birthday cake for $34.99

“People want instant gratification,” Yap said of her two-day turnaround. Jackboy stores shipments for its 15 to 20 daily orders in the warehouse of her boyfriend’s Corona business, Rockwell Aviation Services.

Jackboy died in April at age 12, but another rescue, a Chihuahua and miniature pinscher mix, now helps vet each new roll-out and disdains all but fresh baked goods. Her beau christened him “Colonel,” but Yap mistook the high-ranking title for the seed and registered the mutt as “Kernel.”

The showbiz request came last February from a freelance Hollywood producer who found Jackboy Dog Bakery online. Yap designed the cookie to replicate a World War II-era license plate for a pawn shop in Branson, Mo., that gives customers the chance to earn their asking price by playing a little trivia game. Jackdog’s confection represents the soybean license plates made by some states in the 1940s to save metal for the war effort. The plates began disappearing when animals began eating them right off the cars.

The indefatigable Yap seems to dream up a new goodie every week. Fare includes Garlic Pup-zels, Coco-Mutt Macaroons, Snickerdroodles, Muddy Paws Carob Fudge Sandwiches and Honey Dough-Mutts. “I do it all,” she said. “The design, recipes and labeling. I have a mission to make people appreciate their pets and treat them as part of the family.”

Follow Laurie Lucas on Twitter @LaurieLucas and check her blog on pe.com/business

Technorati Tags: doggie treats,doggie bakery,Corona,CA,dog snacks,JOMP,Just One More Pets,natural dog food,natural dog snack,dog food,dog fun

MURRIETA: Hot dog! A water park for pooches

FRANK BELLINO/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER -  Dogs play at the new pool at the Country Kennels Dawg Waterpark in Murrieta, July 23, 2013.

PE.com: A new water park in Murrieta that’s open to the community encourages running, jumping and diving after weeding out the fighters, biters and bullies.

There’s no need for swim wear, sun screen or towels, but life jackets are available.

This place is, after all, Dawg Water Park, probably a first for Inland Southern California. The canine water world and playground opened Saturday, July 20 with 500 frolicking pooches on the 10-acre grounds of Country Kennels at 25817 Washington Ave.

Leo, a 10-year-old St. Bernard, and Jack, a 4-year-old golden doodle, gave the salt water, amoeba-shaped pool four paws up, said their human, Angie Duncan, 53, of Murrieta.

“They loved it,” said Duncan, who’s been grooming and boarding her pets for two decades at Country Kennels. “The owners have done nothing but improve the grounds with beautiful trees over the years and now, they’ve put in this amazing water park.”

Husband and wife Gary and Patty Bruesch started the kennel 23 years ago — securing the first building permit recorded in the city, according to Patty. Since then, they’ve expanded to 99 dog runs and nine fancy canine pens called suites, as well as 35 cat enclosures, some of them also suites.

“We always talked about how much the dogs, especially the labs and golden retrievers, love the water,” said Patty Bruesch, 55. She designed her fun zone with a friend who had installed a little pool at her kennel in San Marcos.

Paradise Ranch Pet Resort, a cage-free boarding “country club” in Sun Valley, pioneered a Southern California dog water park in 2010. “We’re doing very well,” Breanna King, an administrative assistant, said of their three pools and geyser areas. “People and their dogs love it.”

Video:  MURRIETA: Dog water park opens to public

Working with Patty’s brother, a pool builder in Encinitas, the Bruesches would only say that they invested “a substantial amount” for a landscaped water park on deodorized Astroturf to keep mud out of the water.

The Bruesches broke ground in February for a 52-foot long, 20-foot wide pool up to 4-feet deep with extra long steps for easy exits. There are shallow beach accesses, a 40-foot long dock ramp, a shaded lounge area and culvert pipe tunnels for madcap chases. The Bruesches are launching Saturday dock diving classes and plan to add agility equipment.

“It was crazy,” said Patty of the all-day grand opening. “The dogs had so much fun and their owners all had smiles on their faces.”

The staff accepts only neutered dogs, requires vaccination papers and insists on liability releases. Bruesch evaluates temperaments by seeing how each dog responds to one of her calm canines when penned together. “We don’t want aggressive dogs,” she said. Although some owners wanted to dog paddle with their best friends, the pool is only for the four-legged.

Bruesch said the first open swim was a melting pot of the pedigreed and the rescued, poodles and Pomeranians, American bulldogs and basset hounds, dachshunds and Bernese mountain dogs. Although an attendant supervises, humans still must monitor their pets during open swim.

No squeaky toys are allowed, keeping the fur from flying. However, Bruesch green lights water toys, such as balls and Frisbees.

No alcohol is permitted either, but lapping pool water is OK.

Dawg Water Park costs extra for the kennel’s boarders. For the public, the charge is $12 an hour for the first pet, $6 for additional pets. Owners may book private parties, which are required for intact males, such as Border Patrol and police dogs. .

“They have so much energy to burn,” said Brandon Englert, 28, one of the kennel technicians. Ball hog Callie, a yellow lab puppy, stole the show the other day as she fetched and retrieved, competing with two black lab brothers, Junior and Max. After hugging the pool’s perimeter, Spree, a miniature Australian shepherd, tiptoed into the shallows as the staff cheered her on.

“They get the whole pool where they get to be dogs,” Bruesch said.

Watch her website for revised class times and pool hours: http://countrykennelsca.com/

Technorati Tags: doggie water park,Murrieta,dogs,pet fun,dawg water park,CA,JOMP,Just One More Pet,pet love and friendship

Dog(s) Survive 4th of July Prank

NBCLA/THITW: A 2-year-old pit bull pup who may have been the victim of a cruel Fourth of July prank was rescued July 5th, but it’s just the start of what likely will be a long recovery for the badly burned dog.  The young pit bull was found July 5 in the Van Nuys, Calif., area and brought to the East Valley Animal Shelter.

While rescuers are unsure exactly what happened to the dog they named Indy, they suspect he may have been hurt by fireworks the day before.

Shelter Transport Animal Rescue Team (S.T.A.R.T.) took the dog into their care Thursday. The group, which describes its purpose as removing animals from high-kill shelters in Los Angeles, is offering a $1,000 reward for the arrest and conviction of whoever injured Indy.

"We named him Indy because we want Independence Day to mark his freedom from those who hurt him," according to a video posted to S.T.A.R.T.’s Facebook page.

In the video, Indy takes ginger steps around his cage. He is suffering from third-degree burns over half his body, including on his stomach, legs and paws.

Dr. Daniel Slaton, a well-known surgeon who typically operates on humans, was called in after the pit bull was apparently strapped with fireworks and lit ablaze.  He believes based on the pattern and location of the burns, the dog was strapped with fireworks on July 4.

“Fire from the fireworks are going down his legs, and as it was being lit, he was walking and burning the bottoms of his feet,” said Slaton, lead surgeon at the Westlake Village Animal Hospital, where Indy has undergone at least 2 surgeries so far.

Called "sweet and gentle" by rescuers, the 2 to 3-year-old pup (pictured above) is being treated by a burn specialist at the private veterinarian hospital, where he’ll have to stay at least another month.

His next surgery is scheduled for Friday morning.

Rescuers are asking for the public’s help to fund Indy’s extensive recovery.

Anyone interested in donating is asked to contact donations@startrescue.org, or mail a check to:

S.T.A.R.T.
PO Box 4792
Valley Village, CA 91617

The organization notes that donations should be sent as "Personal and Gift so no charges are taken out, and kindly write INDY in the memo."

See video HERE

Related: 

‘Rocket’ the dog lucky to be alive after thugs attached an explosive to its neck and blew it up 

Justice for Dog Whose Face Was Blown Off By Fireworks!

Technorati Tags: stop animal cruelty,tougher sentences for animal abusers,animal advocates,stand-up,fireworks,cruelty,dogs,California,Westlake Village,INDY,4th of July,dog surgery,holidays and pets,THITW,JOMP,Just One More Pet,S.T.A.R.T.

Dog rescued after being tied to train tracks by ‘confused’ man

Rescued Banjo

Were it not for an eagle-eyed engineer, the world would be minus this very lucky dog. Earlier this month, an engineer driving a Union Pacific train through Mecca, Calif., saw a man stepping away from something he’d left behind: a 10-month-old doggy, tied to the tracks. The emergency braking system stopped the train, and Union Pacific Special Agent Sal Pina arrested the man, 78, who reportedly said his family did not want the dog. Pina said animal-cruelty charges wouldn’t be filed, as the man appeared to be confused or unaware of what he’d done. The rescued pup, who animal services worker named Banjo — slang for old railroad traffic signs — is happy, healthy and looking for a new home.

This ended up being a success story, but it could have been a horror story.  Sadly the numbers of elderly suffering from dementia and Alzheimer’s as well as other people suffering from mental and emotional disorders are at an all time high, let alone the people who are innately cruel and animal abusers, plus the clueless who are just abandoning their animals because of monetary problems.  Be vigilant and intercede, report abuse and keep an eye on friends and family members experiencing mental, emotional or financial challenges.  Pets and children often become unintentional victims!!

Pets are fabulous companions for the elderly and those suffering from various illnesses and challenges and pet therapy has become very popular and useful treatment , but we must remember that those animals, who give their love and companionship selflessly, are God’s creatures as well and deserve love and compassion in return.

Cross-Posted at True Health Is True Wealth

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Pets Being Left Behind to Starve by Their Families

Pet Therapy

Technorati Tags: animal cruelty,dementia,Alzheimer’s,dogs,pets,success story

The Natural Balance Dogs…

Video:  The Natural Balance Dogs

h/t to Liana Smith

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With Pets Travel Series: Have Dog, Will Travel: Tips For Taking Your Pet On The Road – Part II

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Technorati Tags: Natural Balance,Natural Balance dogs,Surfin’ USA,dogs,bull dogs,surfing dogs,snowboarding dogs,skateboarding dogs,animal behavior,dog video,Natural Balance Dog video,JOMP,Just One More Pet,pet fun,dog fun

Rosie’s Dog Beach in Belmont Shore (Long Beach) Video

VIDEO: Chris Miller & dogs at Rosie’s Dog Beach | Photos by Justin Rudd!

Rosie’s Dog Beach in Belmont Shore (Long Beach) is the only off-leash area for dogs on the beach is Los Angeles County. 

ROSIE’S DOG BEACH in Long Beach permits off-leash beach access for dogs and their owners in a 3-acre area, daily from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. The area, named after the English Bulldog that inspired its creation, is at 4800 E. Ocean Blvd., basically between Roycroft and Argonne avenues at the water in Belmont Shore, 90803. THE LAW: ONE DOG PER ADULT. CLICK HERE for a Rosie’s Dog Beach map, driving directions, rules, photos and more details.

 

n/t to Haute Dogs and Justin Rudd

Related:

Dangers of Dog Parks and Other Springtime Tips…

Tick-tock: OC License amnesty begins Thursday, April 1st

This Welsh corgi mix pup is available for adoption. Click on the photo to read more.

OK, dog owners, consider this your early reminder: It’s time to pay for Fido’s overdue license.

Orange County Animal Care will launch Thursday (April 1) a 45-day amnesty program for residents who have failed to license a dog in 17 contract cities serviced by the agency. Those cities include:

Anaheim, Brea, Cypress, Fountain Valley, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Laguna Hills, Lake Forest, Orange, Placentia, Rancho Santa Margarita, San Juan Capistrano, Stanton, Tustin, Villa Park, Yorba Linda, and all unincorporated areas of Orange County.

Residents who do not live in the OCAC’s coverage area can check a list of shelters and animal-control agencies for information about pet licensing in their cities.

Live in Santa Ana? Residents there can take advantage of an identical amnesty program that also debuts April 1.

The program, which runs through May 15, allows dog owners to license their pet for the base price ($24 for altered dogs, and $100 for unaltered dogs), minus any late fees that might have accrued over the past four years.

Residents over the age of 65 are eligible to license one altered dog per household for $12. Licenses are free for assistance dogs.

Pet licenses help OCAC track rabies vaccinations and help identify lost pets. Cat licenses are optional.

“It is our goal, through this program, to ensure more pets are returned to their owners when the unfortunate happens,” said interim director Ryan Drabek. “Approximately 97% of the animals impounded by OC Animal Care that are wearing a tag are returned to their owners.”

All dogs in Orange County over the age of four months are required by law to be licensed and vaccinated against rabies. Residents must provide proof of a California-approved rabies vaccination to obtain a license (OCCO 4-1-70).

While the amnesty program will eliminate revenue derived from penalties, it could help OCAC collect outstanding fees owed from owners of an estimated 247,327 unlicensed dogs in the service area. Hypothetically, if each of those dog’s owners paid the base license fee $24 per pet, the county could reap nearly $6 million annually in fees.

The program also will alleviate years worth of late fees that have accumulated for pet owners who have failed to register a dog or renew a license:

• $41 delinquent fee for dog owners who have not renewed the dog license;
• Dog owners who have owned their dogs for consecutive years and have never purchased a dog license are charged the corresponding license fee for each year of ownership up to four years, plus the $41 late fee for each year the dog was not licensed.

• Online at ocpetinfo.com
• In person at OC Animal Care; 561 The City Drive South, Orange, CA 92868
• By telephone: 714-935-6848

What is required:

• Proof of rabies vaccination.
• Proof of spay/neuter for discounted rate of $24.
• If pet has yet to be altered (spayed/neutered), an owner can pay the discounted rate of $24, but proof of sterility must be provided within two weeks of licensing.

Time for a new ID tag? While you’re busy getting Fido’s paperwork and license in order, check out our tips on updating the family dog’s ID tag.

Follow @sammigo on Twitter | Become a fan of Pet Tales on Facebook
Add Pet Tales to your Yahoo and iGoogle pages | Get email alerts
E-mail your pet photos to sgowen@ocregister.com

Posted: Just One More Pet

Doggie ‘doctors’ diagnose their owners’ ills

Canines’ keen sense of smell & intuition helps them detect people’s disease

Morgan, a Yorkshire terrier, jumped at owner Pamela Plante’s leg so incessantly that she that she finally inspected it in the mirror, and realized it was red up to her knee. She was diagnosed with an  infection that had spread throughout her body and she spent a week in the hospital.“After she jumped on my leg, she would sit and look at me and shake or shiver,” says the Smithfield, R.I., woman. (Photo by Pamela Plante)

“From past experience, I knew she would shake like that when she was in pain, so I picked her up and checked her all over trying to find out what was wrong and couldn’t find anything. When I put her down she would jump on my leg again.”

Finally, Plante inspected her leg in a mirror and discovered it was red up to the knee.

Plante called her doctor who told her to get checked immediately. She was diagnosed with sepsis and spent a week in the hospital recovering from the infection that started in her leg and spread through her body.

Sensitive dogs, such as Morgan, are proving that besides being man’s best friend, some canines also have a lifesaving sixth sense. Dogs’ keen ability to differentiate smells enables some of them to know we’re sick long before we might ourselves. Combine that with their 24/7 observation of us and some pets have proven to be skilled diagnosticians, even if we’re not always sure what they’re trying to tell us.

In the past few years, studies have shown that dogs can sniff out both early and late stage lung and breast cancers. The Pine Street Foundation, a non-profit cancer education and research organization, in San Anselmo, Calif., is even training dogs to recognize ovarian cancer.

Some dogs have also been shown capable of detecting skin cancer.

Riker, a 9-year-old Australian Shepherd who lives with Liz and Paul Palika in Oceanside, Calif., poked insistently at Liz’s father’s chest. “Dad, did you leave some of your dinner on your shirt?” Liz teased him. But Riker wouldn’t stop. To satisfy him, Liz and her mother took a closer look. There was a lump on her father’s chest. A trip to the doctor revealed a melanoma that had spread beneath the skin.

Other dogs have been taught to catch when diabetics’ blood sugar levels drop. And for about the past 20 years, “seizure dogs” have been used to alert their owners to a pending seizure and assist them to a safe place until it’s over.

Lifesaving cat
It’s not just dogs who have proven to have life-saving noses. Ardis Matson of Brookings, S.D., credits a gray tomcat named Tuffy with keeping her mother alive and able to live on her own for several years. “My mother was elderly and had insulin-dependent diabetes,” Matson says. “Often, her blood sugar would go dangerously low during the night and if left unchecked it could have caused her to go into a coma and die. Tuffy always slept with her, and when her blood sugar started slipping really low during the night, he would nudge her and walk across her body and keep aggravating her until she would get up and take glucose to make her blood sugar levels rise. When she was in control again, Tuffy would go back to sleep.”

And then there’s Oscar, a cat who lives at Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Providence, R.I. He alerts staff to the impending death of patients, a gift that allows families to be notified in time to say their good-byes.

The answer to how animals know something is wrong may be up in the air — literally. Dogs and cats have a keener sense of smell than humans, and that may enable them to detect subtle changes in body odor caused by such things as cancer cells or lowered blood sugar.

In the case of Oscar, for instance, veterinarian Margie Scherk, president of the American Association of Feline Practitioners, notes that he may be picking up a variety of clues that people are too busy to notice or don’t have the sensory capacity to detect.

“Cats live in a world of smells; their olfactory sense is a lot more acute than that of a human,” Scherk says. “People who are dying, as well as those who aren’t eating, emit ketotic odors, which might be one cue that cats like Oscar detect. There could easily be other odors that a dying individual produces that our noses are unable to note.”

In addition to being able to pick up certain odors, dogs and cats also seem to be able to recognize that it means there’s a problem their owners need to know about.

“There is reason to believe that some odors do have an ‘intrinsic’ value to the animal, that evolution has led to the development of neural pathways that specialize in detecting and processing relevant categories of smell,” says Timothy E. Holy, assistant professor of anatomy and neurobiology at Washington University in St. Louis. “Experience, too, plays a big role. You can train a dog to react in particular ways to relatively arbitrary smells.”

Those smells might include the breath of a person with lung cancer or the urine of a person with bladder cancer.

So the next time your dog or cat is nagging you, don’t ignore him. He might have something important to say. Just ask Joan Beck of Cottage Grove, Minn.

“One morning I woke up in the throes of a severe asthma attack. My husband was already awake and taking a shower. I was having so much trouble breathing that I couldn’t call for help. Our English springer spaniel, Sam, suddenly appeared, nosed me for a moment, then turned around and left the room. My husband said later that Sam pushed the bathroom door open and insisted that he follow Sam back to our bedroom. ‘Who needs Lassie when we have Sam?’ my husband says.”

By:  Kim Campbell Thornton is an award-winning author who has written many articles and more than a dozen books about dogs and cats. She belongs to the Dog Writers Association of America and is past president of the Cat Writers Association. She shares her home in California with three Cavalier King Charles spaniels and one African ringneck parakeet.

© 2008 MSNBC Interactive