A pet party that's cause for celebration

Jul 27
5 min read

Originally published in LEO on March 22, 2000 • Updated with modern perspective in 2026

From The Pet Guy Archives

Today, dog-friendly festivals, pet birthday parties, gourmet treats, and charity events benefiting animal shelters are commonplace. But in 2000, this movement was just beginning to capture national attention.

In this column, Jeff Seidenfaden visits Three Dog Bakery's ShinDIG, a Louisville fundraiser benefiting the Shamrock Foundation, where he meets company founders Dan Dye and Mark Beckloff. The event highlighted a growing trend that would eventually transform the pet industry—bringing together businesses, animal welfare organizations, and pet lovers to celebrate the human-animal bond while helping homeless pets.

Looking back, this article offers a fascinating snapshot of the early days of today's thriving pet lifestyle movement.

Editor's Note

This article is presented as originally published in March 2000. The organizations, businesses, and charitable initiatives mentioned were current at the time of publication. While many have evolved over the past two decades, the importance of supporting animal welfare organizations, responsible pet ownership, and community involvement remains as relevant today as ever.

Original 2000 Column

The following article is transcribed from the original publication with only minor formatting changes for online readability.

Original 2000 Like Cats and Dogs newspaper column titled "A pet party that's cause for celebration" by Jeff Seidenfaden featuring Three Dog Bakery's ShinDIG fundraiser, the Shamrock Foundation, and the growing movement to support homeless pets through community partnerships.

When was the last time someone encouraged you to bring your dog to their party? For me, it happened just last week when I went to the Three Dog Bakery's ShinDIG, a benefit for Louisville's Shamrock Foundation, a non-profit pet agency dedicated to ending the homeless pet population.

From the moment I entered the store in the Chenoweth Square Shopping Center, I was surrounded by dogs and smiling dog owners, all of whom were there to mingle, taste the gourmet biscuits (even the humans!!) and meet Three Dog Bakery founders Dan Dye and Mark Beckloff. These two, now famous worldwide after appearing on Oprah and the cover of Forbes magazine, as well as hosting their own cooking-for-your-dog television show on The Food Network, are busy traveling from store to store across the country telling how they pioneered the tasty gourmet dog treat/food industry, from the humble days of cooking dog biscuits for friends in their own kitchen to a national phenomenon.

According to Dye, the company was founded to create wholesome treats for dogs after he read the back of an old box of dog biscuits that had spent years in a drawer. Scary for him was that he couldn't read the ingredient list. Scary for the pet was that the biscuits probably still had exactly the same nutritional value as the day they were purchased—none.

Besides treating dogs to tempting tastes such as SnickerPoodles, the company has the serious mission of helping needy animals. Dye and Beckloff plan to launch a major non-profit charity to help end pet suffering, called Gracie's Fund, in remembrance of the rescued deaf Great Dane that inspired the company. This money will be used to help pay for expenses in saving pets that have been abandoned, injured or have other needs that traditional shelters cannot afford. According to Dye and Beckloff, all administrative costs of the fund will be absorbed by Three Dog Bakery, which leaves 100 percent of the funds raised available for helping the animals themselves.

Helping animals is nothing new to Three Dog Bakery stores across the country. Most have affiliations with animal charities, like the one with Shamrock Foundation in Louisville. For Sharon Mays, founder and president of Shamrock, this event and others like it are a chance to sit back and enjoy the animals that they (Shamrock Foundation) have spent so much time, money and effort to save.

As Mays said, "Work with animal welfare organizations often means dealing with things that aren't pleasant, such as animals from neglectful or inhumane situations. I see several dogs here tonight adopted from Shamrock that are in such good homes now it's like the shot in the arm that keeps me going." "The public really respects the work Shamrock does," according to Beckloff. "When we mentioned we were in town to raise money for Shamrock Foundation, people's faces lit up. This may be in part due to the fact that Shamrock does more than help needy animals. The organization has also helped many people who have come into bad situations get back on their feet."

Steve Wilson, owner of Louisville's Three Dog Bakery, said the turnout for the event was larger than anticipated, and he thought that nearly $1,000 had been raised. The Louisville bakery is the company's largest, and the only one featuring a special room for pet parties.

A pet party that's cause for celebration: The Pet Guy Perspective Today

Looking back, this article captures a pivotal moment in the evolution of the pet industry.

In 2000, gourmet dog treats, pet-friendly events, and businesses built around celebrating pets were still relatively new concepts. Today, they're part of a multi-billion-dollar industry that reflects how deeply pets have become integrated into our families. Three Dog Bakery was one of the companies that helped pioneer that transformation, proving that people wanted healthier treats, unique experiences, and stronger connections with their pets.

Equally inspiring is the focus on giving back. The partnership between Three Dog Bakery and Louisville's Shamrock Foundation demonstrated how businesses and nonprofit organizations could work together to improve the lives of homeless animals. Those collaborations continue to make a difference today, whether through adoption events, fundraising campaigns, or community education.

One thing hasn't changed over the past 25 years: pet lovers are incredibly generous. Whether someone adopts a rescue dog, volunteers at a shelter, donates to an animal welfare organization, or simply attends a fundraiser like the ShinDIG, every act of compassion helps improve the lives of animals in need. That's a message worth celebrating as much today as it was in 2000.

About The Pet Guy Archives

The Pet Guy Archives preserve the original newspaper columns written by Jeff Seidenfaden, nationally recognized pet expert, television host, newspaper columnist, and animal advocate. Originally published beginning in the 1990s, these articles have been carefully restored to make them accessible to today's pet lovers while preserving the original voice and perspective of each column.

About the Author

Jeff Seidenfaden is an entrepreneur, former television host, newspaper columnist, and lifelong animal advocate best known as The Pet Guy. For more than three decades, he has educated pet owners through television, newspapers, radio, public appearances, and community outreach, helping families build happier, healthier relationships with their pets.