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| Waiting for home delivery? |
There’s a fine line
between blogging and advertising the wares and services of others, but this is
something a good friend alerted me to that I found fascinating. Home-delivery
of human food specifically for dogs and cats. It’s certainly an interesting
development in the human-animal bond department and says a lot about the way
some people relate to their pets.
www.deliveryhero.com.au is a company
that connects Australians to over 3000 restaurants around the country, via its
website and apps. But it isn’t just humans they are serving. The company
recently launched a new service, www.doggy-bag.com.au, which is quite the talking point. Essentially, this allows pet owners to order
takeaway and a special something for their dog or cat at the same time. So SAT
asked them what it was all about.
How did you come up with the idea of Doggy Bag? Do you think people were
doing this on their own informally anyway?
It actually started as an April Fool’s - we came up with the fun idea of
offering takeaway food for pets. But then we quickly realised that it could be
more than a joke and it could actually become a great product to offer. When we
started to contact some of our partner restaurants, we realised they were very
excited about it so we decided to launch the Doggy Bags! And yes, I do think
people were already sharing their takeaway dish with their pets, or at least
feeding them with the leftovers.
Why is Doggie Bag simply better than just sharing your leftovers with
the dog or cat?
The Doggy Bags are actual gourmet takeaway food. The chefs from our local
participating restaurants came up with their own signature dish based on the
fresh ingredients they use to cook dinner for 'humans' with. They don't use
leftovers. The Doggy Bag are also specifically designed to suit dogs and cats'
needs (no seasoning, etc).
[Remember that there are plenty of human foods that pets should not eat.
For more info, see our post on barbie hazards here. You can also download an exceptional educational poster by Lili Chin here].
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| So I can promise you that Phil would pick out the vegies, but he would probably do a somersault if this was dropped at the door. |
What’s on the menu?
Some examples of what is on offer are Penne in a meat sauce with chicken,
zucchini, carrots, and pumpkin ($6/$8) from Micky's Cafe, Paddington; Grilled
chicken kebab with rice and tomatoes ($9) from Turkish Pide and Kebabs,
Erskineville and; Boiled chicken fillet with turmeric and garden vegetables
($5/$8) from Taste of India, Double Bay.
A funny story on this one is that the owner of Taste of India is a huge
fan of dogs and he walked across the street to ask the Vet if
Turmeric would be suitable for animal's consumption. You see, these
restaurateurs have been really involved!
Is there any difference in the way the food is prepared or ingredients
used?
Each dish contains proteins, carbohydrates and vegetables with the
minimum seasoning to ensure they are suitable for animal consumption. The
restaurateurs have been briefed with a list of ingredients to avoid (like
onions that are toxic to dogs for instance).
I've also visited them to have a look at the dish itself. The key is to
keep their dish fresh, but simple: meat, veggies, carbs - no need to go over
the top and serve something that would sound fancy but would not be suitable to
animal consumption.
What sort of pet owners do you think will use the service?
I think we will see a mix of pet owners ordering this product. Whether
they are people willing to treat their pet at the same time than the family, or
time-poor professionals who forgot to pop by the grocery store after work to
buy pet food... the price makes it very accessible too, starting at $5 for a
440ml container.
How popular has this service been so far? If so, are dog meals or cat
meals more popular?
We have launched the Doggy Bag only last week and we are planning of
talking to our customers about it this week. We will then be able to assess if
this is a popular service or not.
Doggy Bag is a service marketed to people whose animal is included in
family dinner. Do you think that pets are increasingly being treated as part of
the family?
I think that any pet owner finds themselves wanting to treat their little
loved ones. The same way ordering takeaway delivered to your door might be a
treat for the entire family, you want to treat your pet. There's also more and
more cafes and restaurants in Sydney that become dog-friendly. People also
spend a lot on treating their pets with accessories or good food. This shows
that pets are definitely part of the family.
Intriguing. Of course as
a vet I am obliged to say that this is not a complete diet. Just as no doctor
would recommend eating take-out food every night, one wouldn’t advocate feeding
take-out food to one’s dog.
In addition it is
important to be careful when introducing new foods as these can cause
gastrointestinal upsets. Also one should avoid these dishes in animals on elimination
diets, those with pancreatitis and so forth. But I must say from a health
perspective it seems better than feeding dogs the leftover human takeaway food
which may contain potentially harmful ingredients. Have you ever ordered
take-away or home delivery especially for your pet?
