Everyone knows there's nothing dog owners enjoy more than showering their four-legged friends with love. Luckily for them, In Dogs We Trust (IDWT) is here to provide the ultimate puppy snack.
It all began when owner and founder Samantha Mok was tasked with conceptualizing a "hypothetical design and packaging project" for her graphic design thesis; and it wasn't long before she became the unexpected proprietor of a substantial amount of prize and sponsorship money for her assignment.
Mok used to be an English Teacher, but was feeling dispassionate and unfulfilled in her job, so she went back to school for graphic design. But the timing of her graduation was unfortunate because it coincided with the middle of the pandemic, which meant her hard-earned job prospects began to vanish.
With plenty of time on her hands, Mok dived head first into her thesis assignment and "literally filled up the kitchen with dog treats". Ironically, her own dog, Walter, is a picky eater and lived up to his nickname "The Prince", and wasn't keen on any of Mok's canine creations. As a result, she called in "anyone with a dog" to empty her home of all the left over dog treats she made, packaged and designed for her project.
Mok says that she thought it was going to be a "one and done" thing. But within a month, she had won five national design awards and with that, decided to turn her idea into a real life business venture.
"I had the time, I had the funding, so really the only thing left was to just do it," said Mok.
Within a short span of time, Mok had gone from having a number of job opportunities on the table, to closed offices and redacted offers, to fully-fledged business owner.
Having branding that she believed in played a big part in what gave her the push to move forward with her business, as did the confidence that came with "knowing other people liked the design." Not only that, Mok recognized that she could tap into something universally felt amongst dog owners––a desire to spoil them––perhaps even more so during the height of the pandemic, where human interaction was substituted for 24/7 quality time with pets.
Initially, the product that garnered the most attention was the pup cup sorbet. Samantha uses a goat milk base, it's less fatty than cow milk and therefore more digestible for dogs, and a mixture of fruits and oats for flavour and texture. It's perfectly okay for people too, so if you're curious about trying it for yourself, you can. She's even come up with a safe chocolate alternative, the "Keep Calm and Carob On" comprised of just two ingredients, toasted carob and frozen bananas.
She also makes a wide range of biscuits and desserts, with a focus on all-natural, minimal ingredients, whilst making a conscious effort to eliminate added sugars and unhealthy preservatives. Which is what, according to Samantha, "caught everybody's attention...I think a lot of dogs do like ice cream or a Starbucks Puppuccino, but those are treats, they're not actually healthy for your dog."
"So I think when people saw something that's fun like ice cream but is actually healthy for their dog, they really gravitated towards that...you get to treat your dog but have peace of mind that you're not feeding them junk food," she said.
Whilst there is a "novelty factor" to it, the treats Samantha has created can be easily incorporated into a balanced diet for dogs.
If you're wondering where and how to get your hands, or paws on some hand-made treats, everything is made in small batches on a pop-up schedule, meaning there is a designated window for orders, with a delivery time of 3-5 days.
As of now, In Dogs We Trust is based in Scarborough and has limited delivery within Scarborough, Markham and Toronto. In the mean time, you can buy IDWT treats at the Bone House in Leslieville and Dog Lounge and Mollywagz in the Junction. They also have a collaboration with a local Toronto pet food brand Soul Snacks, which uses their treats for one-of-a-kind IDWT creations.
If you'd like to treat your dog to something special you can find all the information you need here, and show your support by giving IDWT a follow on Instagram.
