Great picture!
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Debbie Robertson of Cape Coral brought her daughters, Maxine, 13, and Kristin, 9, and their 9-week-old puppies, Charley and Coral.
Although it was their first social event, both pups plunged into the festivities, burying their snouts — and ears — in the bowls to lap up every crumb. After licking his dish clean, and with a bit of residual white icing on his nose and ears, Charley hopped up on the table to help the slower eaters with their cake.
"It's neat," Robertson said. "It's nice to have a place like this."
While the Cape store tends to see more large dogs, Little Paws Bakery & Boutique in Fort Myers caters to the petite pooch.
Owner Darlene Sumner stocks large and small biscuits as well as a multitude of outfits for the well-dressed Chihuahua, Yorkshire terrier and other diminutive breeds.
Besides frilly dresses, grass skirts, doggy life jackets and T-shirts that say "Bad to the Bone" and "Mommy's Princess," she stocks tony leather collars by Coach and sparkly crystal-studded ones by Swarovski.
Among the most popular are Louis Vuitton collars, priced at $250 each.
"I can't keep them in stock," she said.
Dora Senich's six Shetland sheepdogs eat just about anything, but her Italian greyhound, Mia, has a discerning palate and a sensitive stomach.
So Senich, who runs a pet grooming business next door to Little Paws, was thrilled to find that Mia loves Sumner's chicken liver biscuits and that they agree with her delicate constitution.
"She's very picky," Senich said. "She goes there every day, gets up on the counter and cleans the plate.
"I do it mostly because it's natural," she said. "There's so much junk in a lot of food and the prices are good."
Baked goods are packaged in what look like Chinese takeout containers, except they are made of plastic and have black paw prints all over.
Neapolitan pets haven't been forgotten, either.
Debbie Traviolia's Korbie's Den has been open for two years on U.S. 41 in Naples.
The focal point of the store, like other dog bakeries, is the glass case that holds baked goods, including cannolis, watermelon-shaped biscuits, cupcakes and pizza slices.
Her customers are primarily pet owners looking for healthy treats as well as people buying gifts for other dog owners.
"For hostess gifts instead of wine, some take a bag of cookies for the dogs," she said.
Her four shih tzus welcome well-mannered doggy visitors for playdates.
"If someone is out running around and needs to go to the grocery store for 30 minutes or an hour, they can drop their dog off here," Traviolia said. "It socializes the dog and they get some exercise."
She believes the popularity of pet bakeries fits with the way people live today.
"People are staying closer to home, paying more attention to their homes and animals are a big part of that," she said.
"They're companions, not just dogs, and they want their dogs to be as comfortable as they are."
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