THAT the business of selling dog food on the roadside is a thriving enterprise is beyond question. The dog food business is on the increase, and is thriving in the city and its environs.

Within recent times, several roadside stands have popped up along David Street, Kitty; D’Urban Street, Middleton Street, Duncan Street, Norton Street and along Mandela Avenue, among other locations.

One of the many ubiquitous dog food vendors is Abena Johnson, a mother of six who said she used to work with someone but quit because she was being underpaid, and decided to start her own dog food business.

Abena said she established her own business on a small scale, and each day sells about 50 bags of dog food at $100 each.

Strategically placed, her roadside stand is easily accessible, and she has her own clutch of regular customers who would patronise her business.

Johnson explained that the ingredients for the dog food are similar to that of cook-up rice: in the case of dog food it is pet rice sourced from Bourda Market, plus chicken cubes; thyme; garlic; a variety of meats, including chicken, pork and beef; all scraps from the butchers.

She prepares the food without salt, and does so in bulk quantity. Sometimes she cooks every day, after which the food is measured via a butter bowl and placed in regular $10 plastic bags.

Johnson said pet rice retails at about $3000 per bag, and presently the business is slow because a lot of people are doing it, thus there is a flood of dog food stands concentrated in Georgetown.

Another dog food vendor, Whitney Embleton of First Choice Dog Food Stall located at the corner of David and Sheriff Streets, Georgetown, told this publication that the dog food business was started by her aunt at Broad and Russell Streets, Charlestown.

She said the idea was conceptualised by Jade Stone Chinese Restaurant, ‘Black Chiney’ at Mandela Avenue, whose owner started to sell as dog food the Chinese food that was left over.

Whitney Embleton currently manages her father’s roadside dog food stall, which is operational from noon to 10pm daily. The woman says she vends about 100 bags of the dog food per day to regular customers.

These two individuals are among many who have dog food stalls, and it is reported that some drug addicts (junkies) would sometimes purchase bags of the dog food for personal consumption.

One unnamed dog food vendor said the junkies would ask for a bag with a lot of bones, since they prefer bones, and he has already observed a particular drug addict eating the dog food.

Prominent Veterinarian, Dr Steve Surujbally, however, has told this publication that he is not trying to put anybody out of business, but, at the same time, the Guyana Veterinarian Association needs to advise the dog food vendors on what ingredients to put into the food, since, if not properly prepared, it becomes of no nutritional value to animals, much less humans.

He opined that the dog foods being sold locally are of no nutritional value to dogs, and he said dogs should have a balanced diet, which he was certain those local dog foods could not supply. He described the local dog foods as overwhelming carbohydrates but no protein, and with little or no long-term nutritional benefit to the animals as well.

Dr Surujbally said that dogs consuming the local dog food bought from roadside vendors would not be able to fight off diseases, and the placing of spices and chicken cubes in that food is not good for the animal’s metabolism and health.

He disclosed that the local food would not be beneficial to a pregnant dog and the puppies in her womb, since it would not be satisfying to her. She would still be hungry; and once in a stage of pregnancy or advanced age, she needs to have a good diet.

 
By Michel Outridge