For those of us who like to pamper our pets, Lake Dog and their people, 117 N. Main St., Eufaula, is the place to do it. Take them there to be groomed and washed and shop for a variety of nutritious meals.

The latest offering for the pampered pet is a gourmet food section. Healthy food that will help you maintain healthy dogs and cats. Kangaroo (from Australia), duck, rabbit (France), beef, chicken, lamb (from New Zealand), trout, whitefish and salmon. Not to mention beef, bison, and lamb liver; chicken, duck, and turkey necks.

Lake Dog owners Shari and John Wilkins began stocking a gourmet freezer in their store about a year ago. “We realized very quickly there was a need,” Shari said. “We ran out of space.”  She said the gourmet offering is popular with lake visitors, as well as with a lot of locals. “Some local folks tell me they had to drive to Tulsa or Oklahoma City to get raw freeze-dried,” Shari said.

In December, they added a second, larger freezer for their raw meals supplied by Northwest Naturals Raw Food for Dogs and Cats, a company in Portland, Oregon, that manufactures pet food. “They have a USDA inspector on-site to guarantee the quality of the food,” she said. The raw, freeze-dried pet food is a little more expensive than foods sold in most stores, but it is healthier, she said. According to the company’s statement, its raw food provides three essential benefits that cooked pet food can’t supply: enzymes, amino acids, and intracellular moisture (the liquid found inside cells). “All meats contain no added hormones or antibiotics. Our nutritional supplement is natural, human-edible vitamins and proteinate-minerals,” said the company’s information. To offset the higher costs, pet owners may mix in the higher quality food with the food they currently feed their pets, Shari noted.

Northwest Naturals has joined Lake Dog in helping support the local K9 officers. “Northwest Naturals has just agreed to sponsor four of our K9 officers. They supply each of them a 15-pound bag of raw nuggets per month,” Shari said. “It is super healthy.”

By Jerry Fink

Managing Editor for Eufaula Indian Journal

The interview is with Shari and John Wilkins

Owner of Lake Dogs