Best Pet Service IN

And the winner is … Homegrown Hounds

If Melanie Fox, the founder of Homegrown Hounds Dog Deli and Bakery, has anything to say about it, the term “It’s a dog’s life” should be a good thing.

And she does everything in her power to make that dream a reality, which is why Homegrown Hounds was the neighbors’ pick for the best pet service in Lakewood/East Dallas.

When guests walk into the shop on the edge of East Dallas at 4101 Worth, they’re greeted by the welcoming smell of homemade baked goods.

But don’t start salivating just yet, because it’s all for the dogs. Sure, people could eat the baked goods if they wanted to, Fox points out, but it’s a little bland for human taste buds.

Homegrown Hounds is a bakery that serves handcrafted, healthy treats designed with our favorite four-legged friends in mind.

“I think dogs should live forever,” Fox says. “All this stuff is what I would feed to my own dogs.”

Actually she does feed it to her own dogs, and she was doing so long before she opened the shop. Fox created Homegrown Hounds to help raise money for the bakery’s counterpart, Hound Haven.

Hound Haven is a nonprofit dog rescue, and all the proceeds for Homegrown Hounds go straight to Hound Haven.

Not only does Fox sell dog chow, but she also hosts cooking classes to teach neighbors how to make their own healthy puppy meals and treats, and she hosts pet-centric events and “yappy hours” to give local pet owners a chance to show off their favorite family members. Homegrown Hounds even has its own dog food truck, the Snackin Waggin, which is a howl at private pooch parties.

—Brittany Nunn

Runner-up: White Rock Pet Food

Delivery

Third place: Taddy’s Pet Services