At Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, volunteers make treats for the dogs of Dogtown in a program called “bone appétit.” Caregiver JT Rust leads the sessions, and the recipes are adapted so that dogs with dietary restrictions or allergies can take part. The sanctuary publishes its own safety guidance for homemade treats, and that guidance is the best starting point for anyone baking for a dog.
What “bone appétit” is
“Bone appétit” is a volunteer activity at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in which people prepare treats for dogs living in Dogtown, the sanctuary’s dog-housing area. Cayla Cavalletto’s feature about the program, published by Best Friends on October 23, 2025, follows longtime volunteers Bob and Hope McCullen and a dog named Chef Kota. The story is about creativity, care and enrichment, and it is a description of one sanctuary program rather than a general guide to baking for dogs.
Rust, a Best Friends caregiver, describes the program as a passion project. He refines recipes around what the dogs need, and the feature says many Dogtown dogs have dietary restrictions or allergies. Rust leads volunteers through mixing, rolling and making the treats. The feature presents the goal that dogs with restrictions can participate as the sanctuary’s account of its approach. It is not a guarantee that any given recipe will suit every dog.
What volunteers make
The feature names three kinds of baked treat, doggy doughnuts, mini pies and minty breath treats, plus a fourth activity in which volunteers fill food puzzles. The sanctuary’s own recipes are not published in the story, so the table below lists four published Best Friends recipes that show the kinds of ingredients the program works with. They are examples from Best Friends’ recipe articles, not a record of the exact batches volunteers make.
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| Recipe (Best Friends source) | Main ingredients | Preparation notes |
|---|---|---|
| Mini pumpkin pies (November 23, 2020 holiday recipe article) | Crust: Wellness CORE Bestie Bars (chicken and carrots flavor), oats, unsweetened applesauce. Filling: plain pumpkin puree, peanut butter. | The page specifies plain, unsweetened, unspiced pumpkin puree. |
| Peanut butter pupcakes (same article) | Oat flour, oats, agave syrup, peanut butter, applesauce, baking soda, cinnamon, sweet potato, coconut cream. | The peanut butter must be xylitol-free. |
| Spinach, carrot and zucchini treats (same article) | Pumpkin puree, peanut butter, eggs or a substitute, oats, whole-wheat flour, carrot, zucchini, spinach. | Baking time varies with treat thickness and the crunch you want. |
| Frozen Pup Cups (September 21, 2023 article) | Plain Greek yogurt, ripe bananas, dog-safe peanut butter without xylitol, optional honey. | Portion, then freeze for at least 12 hours. See the portioning section below. |
Note that the spinach, carrot and zucchini treats include whole-wheat flour and oats, so they are not suitable for a dog that must avoid wheat or grain without a veterinarian’s guidance.
Why the treats matter to the dogs and the volunteers
Rust describes the benefit in two sentences that capture the program’s logic. In his words, “The dogs get so much enjoyment and enrichment out of the treats and the puzzles,” and “It helps the dogs, caregivers, and volunteers. The volunteers learn so much from it.” The feature treats the food puzzles as part of the same enrichment work, so the baking and the puzzle-filling are presented as one activity.
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Rust’s favorite treat is pumpkin pie. He says he can take one from the freezer for a dog experiencing gastrointestinal problems. That is his description of his own practice at the sanctuary. It is not a medical claim or a treatment recommendation, and it should not be read as guidance for your dog. If your dog has digestive symptoms, a veterinarian should assess them first.
Hope McCullen, a longtime volunteer, puts the experience more simply: “We made doughnuts and filled food puzzles. It was so much fun.” She recalls that Kota quickly ate a doughnut, which is the kind of immediate response volunteers see when a treat is made for a specific dog.
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Kota’s promotion and what it shows
Near the end of the feature, Best Friends reports that Kota had gone home with a family after serving as Dogtown’s first “head chef.” The story uses Kota’s role to show what the program looks like from the dog’s side: a dog who was part of the baking activity was later adopted, which the sanctuary presents as a happy outcome. The feature does not claim that the baking program caused the adoption.
What makes homemade dog treats safer
Best Friends’ veterinary guidance, given in its November 23, 2020 recipe article, is the most specific safety guidance in the sources. Apply these points before you bake for any dog:
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- Ask a veterinarian first if your dog has diabetes, needs weight management, has food allergies, or if you have questions about noncommercial treat recipes.
- Treat the baked goods as an addition, not a meal. Best Friends’ wording is that “dog treats are an addition to and not a substitute for a well-balanced diet.”
- Avoid xylitol completely. The guidance names it as the ingredient to keep out of treats, and the recipes specify xylitol-free peanut butter.
- Keep out chocolate, raisins, some nuts and alcohol. The guidance says these can be toxic to pets.
- Read every label. Peanut butter and other “dog-safe” packaged ingredients can contain xylitol, so check the ingredient list on each product you use.
- Use plain pumpkin. Pumpkin for pies should be plain, unsweetened and unspiced.
The recipe articles also state that these are Best Friends recipes, and they do not say they are complete meals or suitable for every dog. The safety guidance is a set of cautions, not a verified nutritional profile.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Portioning and freezing the Frozen Pup Cups
The Frozen Pup Cups recipe, published September 21, 2023, is the one in the set that names several portioning tools. You can spoon the mixture into 3-ounce paper cups, ice cube trays, silicone molds or muffin tins, then freeze for at least 12 hours. Silicone molds are one option among these, not a requirement. Any container that releases the frozen portions cleanly will work the same way.
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What the sources do and do not establish
- No study statistics. Neither the feature nor the linked recipe pages report a study, a named research figure or a measured outcome for the treats.
- No nutritional analysis or serving guidance. The sources give no calorie counts, no dog-weight-based portions and no independent veterinary approval of the sanctuary’s exact recipes.
- Safety is the sanctuary’s description. Best Friends says the recipes are designed to be safe. That is the organization’s account, not a universal safety guarantee for every dog.
- The Dogtown population figure is undated. Best Friends’ Dogtown information page describes “nearly 400 dogs and puppies” on any given day, but the page shows no publication date. Treat it as the sanctuary’s general description, not a current count.
- Dates matter. The recipe articles are from 2020 and 2023 and the feature is from October 2025. Check the sanctuary’s current guidance before you copy a recipe, especially the ingredient lists.
The feature is best read as a story about people and enrichment. The recipes are useful examples, and the safety points above are the parts to act on.
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