Business & Tech

Dogs Eat Free at the PetStaurant

The PetStaurant in Sherman Oak sells home-cooked food for dogs, and offers free samples to four-legged walk-ins.

The dogs of Sherman Oaks have a new place to hang out, and here's the good news: They get to eat for free.

"Every dog who comes into my store will be fed at no charge," said Marc Teruo Ching, standing behind the counter of the PetStaurant, which opened its doors two months ago.

Just then, a large and friendly golden retriever named Finley came bursting into the store and headed for Teruo Ching, who took some food out of a plastic container and put it into a small wooden plate on the floor.

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Finley started lapping up the food like there was no tomorrow.

"Finley, it's not time to eat yet," said Dori Beth Elkins, a dog trainer who told us that Finley is a foreclosure dog she is taking care of.

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"When her owners lost their home in a foreclosure, I agreed to take care of Finley, since she was homeless," Elkins said.

"I get food for all my clients' dogs here at this store," she said. "It's home cooked, healthy food that is fresh." By now Finley had finished her plate on the floor and was staring at some treats that were sticking out of a jar on a shelf packed with containers and packages of dog food.

Quickly reaching the jar ahead of the dog, Teruo Ching pulled out a treat just as Finley leaped up and grabbed it out of his hand.

"I got into this business because my dogs were sick, and I had to start cooking food for them. A lot of people think that dogs are not picky about what they eat, but that's not true—my three dogs are very picky," said Teruo Ching, 33, who grew up in Hawaii and went to college at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

"After a while my friends began asking me to prepare food for their dogs, and pretty soon the business got started," he said. "Now I have lots of customers who come here every week to buy the food we make for dogs. Since opening the store, business has been really strong."

Teruo Ching claims the food he prepares for dogs can be eaten by humans. Holding up a small plastic container he said, "This dish is one of the most popular items we sell. It's made with grass-fed angus beef, and chicken with spinach. And it's homemade in our commercial kitchen in Van Nuys."

"We also have a 100 percent success rate with three of our foods. By that I mean every single dog that has tried these dishes loves them," he said with a broad smile.

What are the three dishes?

"Tripe with beef liver, chicken with acai berry, and angus beef and chicken with wheat grass and sweet potato," he said.

The 8-ounce packages of food are priced from $3 to $3.50.

Linda Zagon, another customer who had come into the store, said, "My dog had itch and health issues, but the food I buy here keeps my dog from scratching. "

Suddenly, another dog, a Yorkshire terrier, came sprinting in, followed by customer Wendy Hudson.

"This food is custom made for my dog; he had bladder stones and wouldn't eat food that the vets were giving him. But he loves the food I get here. My dogs are like one of my kids," said Hudson, who bought several containers of food.

"The food we sell here has no additives. We encourage people to serve it warm, and I will also show people how to cook food for their dogs," Teruo Ching said.

The new store in Sherman Oaks has been so successful, he said, that he is planning to open another in Agoura Hills.

"We also make a rib-eye steak for any dog on their birthday, and that's a free birthday present," Teruo Ching said.

"To be truthful, I don't even eat this good at home," he added.

PetStaurant, 4344 Van Nuys Blvd., Sherman Oaks.


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