The idea came out of an ordinary Saturday routine.

Darcey Taylor’s four dachshunds – Teddy, Chewy, Winnie and Blue – already got their own plate every time she cooked breakfast for herself and her husband, Brad.

“I’ve always loved watching baking shows, trying my hand at baking, but I never really did anything with it,” Taylor, who is also an emergency room nurse in Memphis, said. “We have four dachshunds, and every time I make breakfast on the weekend, I make them their own little plate. I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be funny if somebody had a bakery and it was all dog-safe stuff?’”

She made a pumpkin cupcake, mostly to see if she could. A friend joked her dog would love one, so Taylor made another. She wasn’t selling anything yet – she was just making things because she liked making them – and people kept asking for more.

“I wanted to be able to make things that dogs could have that look like human versions of those things,” Taylor said. “I just thought it was kind of funny and ironic and cute.”

The requests kept coming, and Barks & Bites Bakery was born.

On the menu

She smiles when she pulls out a paw-shaped cake. It’s decorated like a birthday cake and looks like a tasty treat any good dog would enjoy.

She sells peanut-butter-banana-bacon treats with a yogurt frosting and bacon garnish, pumpkin treats with a cream cheese topping, and applesauce and banana “bark-day cakes” with whipped cream frosting and dog-friendly sprinkles.

There are also bone-shaped mini treats in pumpkin and peanut-butter-banana flavors, carob bites, pawsome cookies, and a variety of other treats and toys.

Taylor’s bestseller is what she calls pup chip cookies: “chocolate chip” cookies made with carob instead of chocolate.

“They look like chocolate chip cookies, but obviously you can’t have chocolate for dogs,” Taylor said.

She’s been experimenting with different processes in her Atoka kitchen, trying to find new dog-friendly treats.

“You’ve got to make sure that it is okay for them,” Taylor said. “It became not only liking to bake and decorate and the aesthetics of it, but also a fun experimental challenge. How can I make this human version a dog-safe version, but also retain some of the look and texture and taste?”

It’s still warm out, and summer’s still in full swing, but she’s already planning ahead. She will be a vendor at the Sept. 5 Lightfoot Farms Market and she’s preparing for the change in seasons.

Fall is Taylor’s favorite season to bake for, and she’s already planning around it. She’s working on a Thanksgiving lineup built around cranberry, apple and sweet potato, and Halloween decorating sessions that double as her own idea of a good day off – a screensaver on the TV, a full batch of cookies to decorate, the house to herself.

“I am really excited about the fall, being a Halloween lover,” Taylor said. “I hope that Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas are some of my good times.”

This year she’s growing her own pumpkins in the backyard, hoping to use her own puree once the fall baking starts.

“I want to be able to say it’s 100 percent from seed to sale,” Taylor said. “That’s going to be my huge goal.”

For the love of dogs

Developing recipes and baking is fun, and Taylor loves seeing her treats being enjoyed.

“Interacting with the people, seeing their animals, and seeing them send me pictures of their dogs enjoying the things – that’s my favorite part. I’m not gonna lie.”

The first time a customer sent her a photo of her dog eating one of her cookies, Taylor said she barely believed it.

“They sent me feedback and said they love it, and I’m like, ‘Really?! They really do?’ I couldn’t make myself believe that somebody really liked my stuff,” she said.

She’s intentionally growing the business slowly and steadily because she wants to be able to sustain it. For now, that means one market and one order at a time, and she’s fine with that.

“I feel like I’m building it around me. I’m not getting rich overnight, and I don’t think that anyone should expect that. I think that’s the way to go until things start getting bigger.”

Word is spreading about her dog bakery, though.

A storefront might be in her future one day, but for today she’s just figuring things out and enjoying herself.

“That’s a ways away. I might not ever actually do that, but that’s my dream. That’s what I would like to do,” she said. “I’m having a good time.”

For more information about Barks & Bites Bakery, or to purchase treats for your pup, visit barksbitesbakery.com.