Sachem Grad Crafts Canine Cupcakes

Dogs love waiting for a treat from their owner. They patiently wait for a piece to fall from your chocolate cookie or Twinkie, and quickly scoop up every last crumb before you even have a chance to notice.

Jackie Starker, a 2006 Sachem North graduate now living in Philadelphia, decided to design and create cupcakes and biscuits that look like something you'd take right out of the oven at grandma's house.

She dubbed her canine treats "Pupcakes," and sells them at her online shop, Pupcakes: bits & treats. Customers can choose from home-made mini or large cupcakes or biscuits, all designed and baked personally by Starker.

The idea came about from her life-long love affair with animals.

"I've been an animal lover for my entire life," Starker said from her home in Philadelphia. "I've worked at dog grooming salons and dog boutiques for a while now, and saw first-hand how in love everyone really is with their pets.

"I would always read the ingredient labels on [dog] foods and treats," and noticed that they were filled with non-healthy substances, she said. "I wanted to provide hand-made, healthy dog treats that don't have anything in them that I wouldn't eat."

That isn't a type-o. All of Starker's treats have just a few, simple human-grade ingredients, making them safe for people to enjoy, if bland, tasteless cookies are you thing.

"I would definitely not recommend" eating them, she said laughing.

"I started off with a small batch of a recipe that came to be the recipe for all my Pupcakes," she said. "I tested them with my own dog, and my parents' dog as well, and slowly branched out to personal orders and then to my Etsy shop."

Etsy is an online market place of sorts, where people can buy and sell hand-made, vintage or custom products. Starker uses the Web site herself to purchase packaging goods for her Pupcakes.

"I picture it as a gigantic knitting circle," she said.

As of now, the Pupcakes only come in chicken flavor, though she is able to custom make orders if a dog has an allergy to chicken. She plans to branch out to include beef, sweet potato and parsley flavors in the future, with the latter for "fresh puppy breath."

Starker opened up her Etsy online shop just over a week ago, and is pleased with how business has been thus-far. She began the shop with 13 customers, and has since had 15 new unique customers. This influx in business has had Starker look for outside help. "I'm almost considering hiring an intern because it's been so busy."

Although she doesn't want to let her big goals and aspirations out quite yet, she hopes to someday open a bakery that caters to both people and their pets.

"I want to open a hybrid bakery that serves as a hub for baking, people, dogs, and art," said Starker, a graduate from UARTS in Philadelphia.

She is looking forward to the holiday season where she expects business to increase even more.

"Selling on Etsy during Christmas is intense from what I've heard and read," she said. "I'm working on a few holiday-inspired treats that I'll sell in my shop for Christmas."

Starker also has ideas in the hopper for products to come from outside the oven, including dog beds, bike basket inserts, collars and even sweaters to keep pooches warm in the cold weather. "The dog beds would have your dog's name engraved into the front in whatever font and fabric pattern you choose to go with your decor."

In difficult economic times, Starker's business venture, considered by some to be a Cottage Industry, is a breath of fresh air in a polluted business world. The thought of Pupcakes becoming a full-time job and business quickly brings a smile to Starker's face.

"I would be infinitely happy with my ob if that's what I woke up and did everyday."