Delaney loves dogs.

 Because of severe allergies, her family can’t have their own.  So, when she was just 14 years old, Delaney decided that it would be really fun to visit all dogs in her neighborhood, and it would be even more fun to surprise them with some treats.

 Because she also loves baking, Delaney researched dog treat recipes online and found she could use spent grain from beer brewing in dog treats, which was good because her dad Vince does some home brewing as a hobby.

 Delaney chose flavors she thought would taste good together, and began baking treats.

 “You were like Santa Claus, remember?” Vince said. “It was (Delaney’s) idea to bake the treats for the neighborhood dogs and just surprise them and deliver them.”

 “I really just wanted to feel like I had my own dog,” Delaney said. “So that’s the reason I wanted to do this.”

 The neighborhood humans told Delaney that their dogs really loved her homemade treats. Even the pickiest of pets just ate them up.

 They encouraged Delaney to start a business selling them. And with help for the business side of things from her family, Delaney’s Doggie Treats was born.

 She has sold more than 1300 bags of treats since that day, mainly through her Delaney’s Doggie Treats Facebook Page, but also at Manhattan’s Bothwell Farms Farmer’s Market last Fall.

Delaney will bake a couple times of month over three to five days, to fill orders that are placed. She delivers the sealed bags of fresh treats herself, and then brings extra bags and a percentage of her profit to donate to local non-profit animal shelters, including Cache Creek Rescue in New Lenox and NAWS Humane Society of Illinois in Mokena. She plans to expand giving to additional shelters this year.

 She doesn’t particularly like the math that is needed to run her business, but loves most everything else. Even cleaning up the kitchen, which she doesn’t even mind.

 “I love dogs so much,” Delaney said. “My favorite thing is I just love seeing the dogs that people send pictures of with the dog treats. I just think it’s really sweet”

 Delaney is in her second year at Lincoln-Way East High School, and even though the pandemic might bring others down, she stays positive.

 “It could be worse,” Delaney said. “My sister is a senior, so she gets nothing and I feel terrible for her.”

 As she carefully lines a large baking sheet with the heart- and bone-shaped treats for “her” dogs, the somewhat shy business owner with a big heart for her furry friends dreams bigger.

 She talks about what she can see herself doing in the future, and that it may involve what she calls a “Doggie Hotel.”

 “I kind of wanted to have my own little place, and have a day care for animals in the back and a have little shop for the dog treats,” Delaney said.

 But at just 15, “she needs to get through sophomore year of high school first,” Vince said with a chuckle.

Find Delaney’s Doggie Treats on Facebook here.