Three Dog Bakery celebrated its First Anniversary recently with a “Pawty” for dogs and dog lovers, in conjunction with a weeklong fundraising campaign for Abigail Broadway, a nine-year-old who suffers from epilepsy.
Wet snouts and wagging tails could be seen sniffing and snacking all over the store. Pups in attendance also received complimentary party bags featuring all natural treats inside. “It’s such a gift to be a part of this community,” says Three Dog Bakery owner, Jean Kessinger. “We appreciate how the community has embraced us.”
If you’ll recall, Abbi’s black lab, Preston, which the family was planning to have trained as a service dog, died suddenly. Abbi began raising money for a new service dog by making natural dog treats at home, under the name “Abbi’s Barkery,” and selling them at the local farmers market. Service dogs can cost in excess of $20,000.
Leslie Kessinger of Three Dog Bakery was put in touch with Abbi and invited her to make and sell her own “Abbi Cake” at Three Dog Bakery to help raise money for her service dog. Three Dog Bakery sold Abbi Cakes for a week leading up to its anniversary party, and donated 10 percent of its total store sales that week to Abbi’s fundraising campaign. Abbi then sold her own homemade treats on the day of the party, with all of her profits going to her campaign.
Goal Reached – Plus More Good News
Just over $1,000 was raised for Abbi through Three Dog Bakery. “Our experience with Three Dog Bakery was wonderful. We got to meet so many people and their dogs,” says Robin Broadway, Abbi’s mom. “We were so amazed at how much money was raised, the donations that were given, and the personal stories that were shared.”
More good news was delivered shortly thereafter. When meeting with breeders and trainers who had experience training epilepsy service dogs, the Broadway’s learned it would only cost half of the anticipated amount if Abbi chose a puppy instead of an adult dog.
“We are actually in contact with a trainer in Chicago who has epilepsy herself. She will assess litters for qualifying pups for us,” explains Broadway. “She said you have to be open to many breeds and also be open to the fact that a litter might not have a qualifying puppy. She passed up three litters before she found hers.” The Chicago trainer will then put the Broadway’s in contact with a local trainer.
Abbi could have her puppy in six to eight weeks. “This type of process saves a tremendous amount of money,” says Robin.” This way, proper bonding will take place and the dog and Abbi will spend every minute together as they bond, train, and grow together,” she explains. “Our other option was to get a dog that has totally gone through training that would be a lot more expensive, take a lot longer to get — up to two years for reputable companies — and then we wouldn’t even be sure that the dog would bond properly with Abigail.”
Abbi’s Barkery — Paying it Forward
Abbi and her mom plan to pay it forward through Abbi’s Barkery, helping other children with epilepsy.
“We are in the process of getting our 501(c)(3) that way we can take donations for our organization and in turn provide other children with epilepsy with a service dog,” says Robin. “We have been blessed beyond expectation and the business is growing beyond what we ever imagined. So yes, we will have money left over and we have already picked the first child we are going to help.”
The Kessinger’s are also happy that Three Dog Bakery could help Abbi and many other worthy causes throughout the community during their inaugural year. “We’ve raised a lot of money this year to benefit philanthropic causes,” says Jean Kessinger. “The fundraiser for Abbi was just wonderful. They are able to proceed and start this process now.”
Visit Three Dog Bakery, located on West McEwen Drive, adjacent to Whole Foods in the McEwen Shopping Center in Franklin, for any of your holistic dog food and dog treat needs.
Click here to follow Three Dog Bakery on Facebook.
To see our original story about Abbi, click here.
Click here to see Abbi’s story on NewsChannel 5.
If you have health concerns about your dog, consult your veterinarian. This article is not meant to substitute or act as medical advice for pets.
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