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Pet Shop Treats Greatful Dogs: Scooby Snacks Just Got Better

By Dave Myhra, SAN JOAQUIN BUREAU
Saturday, January 11, 2003 - TRACY

Dogs need treats, too, and pretty much any yummy munchie that a pooch can imagine is probably stacked somewhere inside the Greytful Dog in Tracy.

The Greytful Dog Barkery and Boutique, open since Dec. 6, sells the latest incarnation of professionally baked specialty pet treats. Truffles, peanut butter cookies and bones covered in chocolate, well something that looks like chocolate, are all ready for some happy dogs.

"You can eat anything in there, but there's no sweetness," said Jane McNamara, owner.

All of the cookies are made of human-grade ingredients, but what looks like chocolate is yogurt or carob.

The cookies have names like Kira's Kisses, Gunther's peanut butter cookies, and Dilan's shortbread, all named after her dogs.

And dogs are guaranteed to love them.

"The bakeries do a lot of testing on dogs, my dogs love them," McNamara said.

Cookies range anywhere from 40 cents to $3.25

Soon McNamara is going to start making puppy birthday cakes and muffins.

Currently, the food isn't made in the store, McNamara orders all of her doggy treats from places in New York and Arkansas.

"They bake them fresh and send them out," said McNamara.

The bakery also sells kitty treats, like dried calamari, shrimp and chicken, but they are not as numerous.

The cookies and pet food are on a raised platform in the back of the East 10th Street store, the rest of the shop is made up of leashes, beds and other pet shop fair.

"We have more specialty stuff, we don't compete with the bigger stores," McNamara said.

The boutique is probably the only one that sells baked goods for dogs in the area. The idea came to McNamara through her love of greyhounds, hence the name. In fact, Gregg the greyhound is always in the store laying on his bed or nosing around the cookies; McNamara is taking care of him until he gets adopted.

Because of her dog interest "we thought this would be a good store to open," McNamara said.

She moved to Tracy more than a year ago and wanted to open the shop. To gauge interest, she set up a booth at the farmers market, the products were very successful.

She then waited for the specific space that the shop now occupies to become vacant.

"I wanted this location, so the bakery could be separated (by the platform)," McNamara said.

Since the Greytful dog opened business has been very good, so much so that McNamara is considering opening the store on an extra day.

The Greytful Dog, Barkery and Boutique, at 33 W. 10th St., in downtown Tracy, is open from 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.

Anyone interested in adopting Gregg the Greyhound, can see him at the store when it's open, contact McNamara at (209) 832-0600, or visit www.goldengreyhounds.com

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