Barking
Lot By VaLeRIe BUstaMante
42 SEGUIN ~ GUADALUPE COUNTY LIVING
O
ld Bandera Road was not occupied by the usual passerby traffic, but instead, there were blue tents set up for the Market Place at Old Town Helotes in Helotes, Texas. Some booths featured paintings, woodworking art and crochet goods while another had artisanal dog snacks dubbed Barking Lot Treats. Under the Barking Lot Treats tent were two French bulldogs named Alvin and Coco, attached to their leashes, greeting anyone who walked by as their parents and owners of Barking Lot Treats, Pam and Scott Hankins, talked business. The couple wasn’t just talking business, but they were also spreading awareness about the positivity of cooking for our fourlegged family members. Based out of Seguin and the D6 Promos storefront, Barking Lot Treats
specializes in natural dog biscuits, jerky and freeze-dried treats, including duck feet and heads as well as other pup friendly goods. “It’s basically a more natural approach to treating our furry pets,” Scott said. While the business got rolling in March, Pam and Scott’s love of pets started long before. “We always had a dog and it was part of the family. The kids were number one, but when they grew up and moved away we sort of developed empty nest syndrome so we brought in Coco, our brindle one,” Scott said. “We had her for up to a year and we thought it would be a good idea to get another one so we brought in Alvin.” When Alvin and Coco became part of the Hankins family, Scott said they started paying closer attention to what the two Frenchies were consuming. “We started looking at the ingredients of the dog food and across the board, it wasn’t as healthy as we thought it should be,” he said. “So we decided that we were going to make our own food for them in an effort they can get