Rob Van Sickle eats dog biscuits.
He eats them nearly every day. As the Owner of Polka Dog Bakery in Boston’s South End, Rob believes in personally taste-testing his own products before they hit store shelves. Thankfully for Rob, he makes one delicious dog treat.
Rob opened Polka Dog Bakery seven years ago after his beloved one-eyed adopted dog, “Pearl,” passed away. He had become deeply entrenched in the world of dogs and specifically, canine nutrition. To Rob, Pearl was like a child and he was heartbroken after her passing. Rob felt the need to contribute whatever he could to the canine world in honor of her memory and quickly realized the need for a high quality dog bakery. He immediately set to work developing nutritional recipes for puppies with distinguished taste.
Polka Dog is no ordinary dog bakery. Rob uses only the finest human-grade, restaurant-quality ingredients in his products.
“In an industry where so many bakeries are outsourcing their products and slapping their stickers on low-quality products, I am doing my best to raise the bar for canine nutrition,” says Rob. “People think “this is just a dog! He’ll eat rocks if I tell him too. He doesn’t care!” But my dog is like my child. Would you feed your child rocks? Dogs are what you feed them. If you feed them top-quality ingredients, this will be reflected in their quality of life, their life span, lower vet bills and their overall happiness.”
On any given day you’ll find Rob visiting the local butcher shops, farmer’s markets and fish markets picking out the freshest ingredients he can find. He swims through the crowds, among the classically-trained chefs who are purchasing the same ingredients as he is, only theirs are to be used in dishes at the 5 star dining establishments around town. Rob doesn’t cut any corners. Once he has completed his purchases for the day, he heads back to the Polka Dog kitchen to hand off the ingredients to his expert bakers.
“The liver is the stinkiest,” says Rob, “but it is tasty. My favorite are the carob chip cookies when they are still warm, fresh from the oven.”
Polka Dog customers are often seen dragging their owners through the front door, placing both paws on the counter and barking orders for their favorite treats. The bakery’s top sellers, aside from their dehydrated duck and fish skin snackies, are their puppy birthday cakes. Made fresh, these all-natural peanut butter and barley flour birthday cakes are iced with creamy vanilla yogurt frosting. It’s every puppy’s dream to nom one of these on his special day.
The customers may be demanding, but they are loose with the kisses. Our own Chief Inspiration Officer, Kobe, highly recommends the classic “Healthy Dog Treats” medley, made wheat-free, corn-free and soy-free, fresh out of the oven.
TaskRabbit is thrilled to team up with Polka Dog Bakery to offer home delivery of all of their goodies. We even offer a Dog Food/Treat Replenishment Program so that customers can automatically have their fave puppy food delivered right to their doorstep every few weeks as needed, because a high-quality product coupled with the convenience of delivery means no more hungry looks from you-know-who.
Visit Polka Dog Bakery at www.PolkaDog.com.
