Dogs are man’s best friend, but are you feeding them like one?

Jack’s Snacks, a full service dog bakery owned and operated by Marni MacLean Karro, 45, prepares handmade natural products using human-grade ingredients free of sugar, salt, preservatives and artificial colors – only the best for man’s best friend.

Marni first became interested in the food industry at an early age. Her stepfather was a great cook, coming from a long Italian line, and Marni had always said the family should open a restaurant in their backyard. What she loved best was the time she spent baking with her mother.

After receiving a degree in speech communications, Marni moved back home to Massachusetts, working in restaurants in Martha’s Vineyard and then in Boston, where she met her husband, Chris Karro.

The couple moved to California. While working in a Caribbean restaurant on the West Coast, Marni met Arsenio Hall. She switched from the food industry to the business world working as Hall’s executive assistant for five years.

In 2003 Marni and her husband moved back to New England to be closer to family and friends. They chose Rhode Island, seeing it as the middle ground between the couple’s two families.

She was looking for another executive assistant position, but found that there weren’t many opportunities in that field in Rhode Island.

Then one night, as Marni excitedly gave her beloved black lab/pitbull mix Jack a special gourmet treat, her husband Chris suggested she open her own dog bakery since she loved both so much.

“I loved the idea,” Marni said. “Two months later I was selling my treats at farmer’s markets as Jack’s Snacks.”

Originally, Marni was baking all of her goods out of her own kitchen, but as her business and demand grew she rented out kitchen space. In 2014 she moved to her current location at 158 Greenwich Ave.

Jack’s Snacks has various different treats from dog biscuits and cookies and also offers custom ordered cakes, “froyo,” as well as a pie of the month. None of the products use any sweeteners and are much better for a dog’s health than traditional commercial products. All of their products are made on-site with locally sourced human-grade ingredients.

Marni said, “I am a firm believer in supporting other small businesses like myself. Using local ingredients, we keep that local synergy going. We keep money and jobs here in Rhode Island, here in New England.”

She also believes in “treating” our dogs. She uses all human-grade ingredients where many others use animal-grade. The issue with that, she explained, is that animal-grade food is held to lower standards and has fewer regulations to go through.

“You have to be careful what you are feeding your pet these days. There have been a lot of recalls on food and treats,” she said. “Dogs are very scent-driven and just like us they enjoy the smell and taste of fresh baked goods. They really love our stuff.”

Even some people enjoy her treats.

When she was first starting out at a farmers market, there was one woman who bought some peanut butter squirrel-shaped cookies. The two had discussed how the cookies were made for dogs, but she saw the woman eating the cookies in the crowd. The same woman came back to her booth later that day and Marni expected her to complain, but to her surprise the woman ordered more of the cookies.

“It’s all good ingredients, but there’s no sugar or salt and other flavorings. You could eat them, but because they are bland you would think I was just a bad baker, but they are made for dogs’ palates. Dogs sure do love them,” Marni said.

Jack’s Snacks have customers that have come to the business for the 12 years it’s been in operation and have customers coming from northern Massachusetts for the products. Marni also continues to promote herself at farmer’s markets.

For all of her hard work Marni was recently recognized by the Rhode Island Small Business Journal as the 2016 Entrepreneurial Woman to Watch: Solopreneur.”

In February Marni was notified that an anonymous fan had nominated her for the award. About 400 businesses and their owners were nominated for one of the 15 awards, Marni officially winning in late April.

Marni said it was an honor to win, especially because she sometimes thinks people look at her business as a “hobby” rather than a career because she services dogs and not people.

“I think sometimes I am taken a little less seriously as a business owner,” Marni said. “It is nice to be acknowledged for something you’re passionate about and have my hard work recognized for what it is.”

For more information on Jack’s Snacks or to purchase their products visit their website at www.jackssnacks.com or the shop at 158 Greenwich Ave., Warwick.