The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
The business that’s gone to the dogs thanks to puppy Lily
Lily the border collie has discovered that, sometimes, crime does pay...
When border collie puppy Astra Lily – or Lily for short – stole a clootie dumpling from her owner Catherine Merrylees’ kitchen cupboard this year, she unwittingly inspired her to start her own business.
Catherine, who lives in Newport,said: “Lily didn’t seem to like any of the chew toys I’d bought her but was desperate to sink her teeth into the clootie dumpling.
“I couldn’t let her eat it as it contained raisins which are lethal for dogs but it sowed the seed of an idea.
“Not long after, I made the first batch of puppy puddings – mainly oatmeal and liver, wrapped in a cloth and steamed, then dried – and they kept her tiny needle-like teeth occupied for ages.”
One day, when Catherine had run out of cloots, she made the leftover pudding mix into liver oatcake biscuits and then went on to experiment with the recipe to make other products.
Recycling old curtain linings to wrap the carefully-sourced ingredients in, Catherine started making mini clootie dumpling treats for dogs and the Puppy Pudding Company was born.
“Cooking for dogs is a bit different to cooking for humans,” she adds.
“Dogs are very much into what the food smells like and its texture, rather than its appearance.”
Catherine is a qualified doctor who left her native Australia when she met doctor Neil, from Dundee, soon after graduating when they were both working in an outback hospital.
“He brought me back instead of a stuffed kangaroo,” she laughs.
“My creative side has had to take a bit of a back seat in the past as Neil and I worked abroad as missionaries in Bangladesh for several years.
“My business has opened up a completely new and exciting road and a visit to Business Gateway Fife has given me a far clearer vision for the business and a long checklist of things to do.
“I strongly recommend taking advantage of this valuable resource.”
And Lily? Well, she’s has all her adult teeth now but is still more than happy to help test Catherine’s products.
For more information visit www. the puppy pudding company. online.
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