Organic treats baked on site in the “Bark-ery” at Salem’s New England Dog Biscuit Company/nedogbiscuit.com
According to historyofmassachusetts.org by Rebecca Brooks: “In October of 1692, an afflicted girl in Andover accused a neighbor’s dog of trying to bewitch her. The villagers shot the dog immediately. Only after its death did the minister, Cotton Mather, declare the animal innocent.”
Today’s Salem is home to a lively community of pet shops and spas. Kim Barnes recently purchased New England Dog Biscuit Company, an online and retail operation in the heart of Salem, “Salem has a rich history and is a vibrant area, I knew that if I was going to live here that I needed to find a way to not only connect with it, but to become part of it. Owning a business, right in the heart of the downtown area, seemed a perfect way to do that.” Kim jokes, “I had already been a customer of the store and was familiar with the offerings and most importantly, my dog loved going there, so it seemed a perfect fit. So in some sense I guess you could say that my dog made me do it!” Clearly dogs can bewitch their owners!
nedogbiscuit.com sets itself apart with its all-natural brand of dog biscuits and specialty cookies baked in-store in its “Bark-ery.” Kim finds that food is so important to the overall health of animals, that people are paying attention to it: “Part of the reason is that there has been extensive research done in the past 20 years on healthy diets for animals, and combined with the access to information via social media and the internet, people are more informed. With that information, they make more informed choices for their pet’s health.” Kim ships her goodies all over the US and enjoys the global traffic in Salem, where people from as far away as Israel and Australia have purchased treats to take home.
Alison Harris is a communications professional in Boston and served in Governor Patrick’s administration, held three rising PR positions at Harvard, wrote for the Boston Herald, and worked for Liz Claiborne and Tommy Hilfiger.
