
An Alaskan dog treat bakery gives a head start for youth with learning disabilities | INDIE ALASKA
Season 13 Episode 3 | 3m 53sVideo has Closed Captions
Daisy Nicolas is using her passion for dog treats to teach life skills to young disabled Alaskans.
Daisy Nicolas first discovered her knack for baking dog treats while caring for her beloved aging dog, Dallas. Now pet treats are her full-time job as owner of Drool Central: A Mum and Pup Barkery in Anchorage, Alaska. When Daisy realized the demands of the business were too much for her, she developed a partnership with the Anchorage School District to employ youth with learning disabilities.

An Alaskan dog treat bakery gives a head start for youth with learning disabilities | INDIE ALASKA
Season 13 Episode 3 | 3m 53sVideo has Closed Captions
Daisy Nicolas first discovered her knack for baking dog treats while caring for her beloved aging dog, Dallas. Now pet treats are her full-time job as owner of Drool Central: A Mum and Pup Barkery in Anchorage, Alaska. When Daisy realized the demands of the business were too much for her, she developed a partnership with the Anchorage School District to employ youth with learning disabilities.
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipDogs are like us.
They get bored of eating the same thing.
They will eat it because they're hungry.
But if you give them a choice, they will eat what's good.
They know what good food is.
My name is Daisy.
I'm making homemade dog treats and dog meals and sometimes cat treats.
And I'm the founder and owner of Drool Central: A Mum and Pup Barkery.
Dallas was my inspiration, the first dog of my own.
And I wanted to make her healthy since I already have a culinary background.
I might as well cook for her.
I used to cook at remote lodges.
What better way to provide food for your dog than from the catch.
My dog will go fishing for her own salmon.
So I'll bring it home and I'll cook it for her.
You have to touch my dog's fur to know how the carrots affected her.
You know, she's very healthy.
It's one of the softest fur.
When my lodge experience finished, I decided I'll start my own business.
I was thinking I'll do pastry for humans.
And then I research the dog treats and all that saying, let me try this.
This is my 10th year in business.
People will just go, I love your company's name.
Almost all of my products are winners.
It's just trying to produce them, you know?
And I cannot produce them by myself.
I'm not a machine, but sometimes I do work like a machine.
Like, Hello.
Even the machine breaks down in 24 hours.
I'm still working.
2016 I started getting the vertigo here and there because of exhaustion.
I will lose those hours.
And then once I'm better, then I go back and then I'd suffer for it again.
And it just got worse and worse.
And I said, I cannot do this by myself anymore.
One of my loyal customers is a coordinator for Anchorage School District, telling me she has this program for the kids.
Adult Community Transition Program.
I like it.
And so I said, okay, first set of students, you know, came and, you know, it took a while because, you know, they have some learning disabilities.
Greens.
Their teachers, are very good.
I like working because I could find a job when I get older.
That's good... a little more.
It's a trial and error, but after a while now they know it.
They really like coming in here because they can actually see what they have done.
They made them, you know, they they weigh them, they label them and it's on the store.
That's a salmon ball.
So it has wild Alaska salmon.
All these things, they package them.
Yeah, this is their accomplishment.
We have built a partnership that is working.
The students love it.
They're learning and they're building their skills.
When I was at South Anchorage Farmers Market and I made my first $400.
Thank you so much.
And I said, I'm in business.
Next week will be even busier.
I have established a community of supporters, dog lovers, dog parents.
And, you know, that's my reward.
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