Youth’s baked goods gone to the dogs
The Puppy Pantry’s four-legged customers are enjoying her products
MASSEY DRIVE – She’s 12 years old and doesn’t have a dog, but Sarah Hayes has started a business that caters to a four-legged clientele.
The Massey Drive girl started The Puppy Pantry, making treats for dogs, earlier this month after about two years of toying with the idea of starting her own business.
She got the idea to make dog treats from a friend in St. John’s who also makes them. The friend suggested it might be something for Sarah to try, because she loves to bake.
“I really love baking, but the only issue that I have with baking, Mom has with baking, is that we have to eat all the stuff.”
She’ll sometimes give things to friends but figures even they are getting tired of all the baking she does.
“So, this is baking, but we don’t have to eat it,” Sarah said.
Starting a business is not a decision that she took lightly.
“I made a pros and cons list to see if it would be good,” she said.
On the pro list she noted that she had lots of friends who have dogs, so she could see having a few customers, and that she really likes baking.
The only con she came up with was that it would be time consuming.
With summer coming and a lot of her regular extracurricular activities winding down she figured it was something she could handle.
So, she found some recipes online and tried a test batch.
“We tested it on my friend’s dog. She tried one and she loved it.”
With her mom and dad, Tonya and Darren Hayes, on board The Puppy Pantry started taking orders. Tonya helps with the Facebook page and baking, and Darren assists with emails and orders.
Right now, she’s offering two flavours of cookie treats — carrot cake and pumpkin pie — and filled 11 orders within her first week in business.
The recipes make big batches and Sarah sells them in baker’s dozens.
She says baking for a dog is a little different than her usual human recipes as the treats can’t have any sugar in them and she has to make sure the peanut butter used doesn’t contain the sugar substitute Xylitol, which is not safe for dogs. They are also made with whole wheat or oat flour.
Other than that, it’s just baking, and customer reviews have been good with lots of posts from satisfied dogs from owners on her Facebook page.
As for the future, Sarah said she may look at adding some more flavours later, including a peanut butter free option for households that may have allergies.
Outside of her business, Sarah takes piano and voice lessons and is involved in musical theatre. She also enjoys horseback riding and golf.
As for being a businessperson, she said “I love it. It’s awesome.”
And that’s exactly the reaction her mom was hoping for.
Tonya said she and Darren supported Sarah’s desire to start a business but just wanted her to find something that would be feasible.
Because she loves baking so much Tonya said making cupcakes was one of her first thoughts, but that’s a tough market to get into.
“And then she had a few other ideas.”
Some involved making lip balms and lip scrubs, but Tonya thought with the COVID-19 pandemic people might not want to buy stuff like that.
The dog treats just seemed to be the perfect choice as they were easy to do.
Tonya said the experience is a good one as it’s teaching Sarah that things are not always as easy as some people make them look.
She thinks this will help Sarah learn more organizational skills and more about business.
“Just the buying of supplies and revenue versus expenses. You’ve got to make enough to cover your expenses.
“I just hope that it kind of trickles enough to keep her interested. A few orders here and there to keep her involved with it.”
“I really love baking, but the only issue that I have with baking, Mom has with baking, is that we have to eat all the stuff.”
Sarah Hayes
Yet another young Newfoundland and Labrador hockey player has committed to playing in the U.S. Collegiate ranks next season.
Anna Barrington, a 17-year-old defencewoman from St. John’s will join the NCAA’S Mercyhurst College women’s hockey squad next season in Erie, Penn.
Newfoundland Growlers’ defenceman Joe Duzsak starred at Mercyhurst before turning pro.
Barrington played prep school hockey at Ridley College in St. Catherine’s, Ont., last season. She is set to play her second season at Ridley in the upcoming 2021-2022 campaign.
She was noticed by Mercyhurst while playing with the Newfoundland and Labrador team at the 2019 Canada Winter Games in Red Deer, Alta. She also drew interest from a number of other NCAA teams while in Red Deer, including Brown and Princeton.
And Barrington is just the latest young player from this province to attract attention from south of the border.
Next season Barrington’s Ridley College teammate Shailynn Snow is off to St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY.
Carmen Elliott of Stephenville, heads to Worcester, Mass., where she will join the Holy Cross NCAA program.
Maggie Connors of St. John’s returns to Princeton University this upcoming season.
Abby Newhook, also of St. John’s, will join the Boston College Eagles for the first time.
Matt Mckim of St. John’s will be a freshman at the University of Alaska next season, as will Ryan Greene of Paradise at Boston University.
Barrington certainly has a sporting pedigree.
Her grandfather, John, is a Royal St. John’s Regatta Hall of Famer and played high school hockey at Gonzaga. Her father, John Jr., has won a number of Regatta championships and played in the local senior hockey ranks. Her uncle, Patrick Barrington, played for the OHL’S Peterborough Petes. Another uncle, Gerard was a high scorer in the St. John’s Junior Hockey League.
The CFL’S board of governors voted unanimously on Monday to approve an Aug. 5 kickoff of the 2021 season.
The board, which was to release a full schedule Tuesday, approved a 14-game regular season, six-team playoff and a Dec. 12 Grey Cup game in Hamilton.
The CFL has not played a game since the Grey Cup game in the fall of 2019 because of the coronavirus pandemic that broke out in early 2020.
The league is encouraging players and team staff to get vaccinated, just as they are urging fans to do the same. The hope is that vaccination rates climb, gathering limits ease and a sense of normalcy descends in time for fans to feel safe and comfortable in stadiums operating at full capacity for home games all over the country in September, October and November.
“We are on track to receive all of the necessary health and safety approvals, thanks to our tireless medical advisers and staff, and the dedicated government officials who have been working with them,” said CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie. “And while the outlook for fans in the stands varies from province to province, we are confident that process is also on the right track.”
Players will enter a sevenday quarantine on June 25 and training camps will open July 10.
“We are pleased the CFL Board of Governors did the right thing by voting in favour of a good and fair agreement that makes it possible for games to be played, with strong player safety standards in place, as soon as August 5,” the CFL Players Association said in a statement. “CFLPA members are looking forward to getting back to the game as well as the communities they proudly represent. We will continue to closely monitor decisions made by the various levels of government to understand how we can meet pandemic safety protocols and get players back to work.”