Dogged determination Both women left challenging careers in the corporate world. Czemmel worked in finance, sales and retail innovation at Gillette; Sylvester, a former skater for Disney on Ice, was the skating programs director for a company that manages ice skating arenas. At age 40, they each decided it was time for a change. Three years ago, Sylvester started selling all-natural dog biscuits to pet specialty shops around the country.
When she saw how well her customers were doing, she thought, ‘‘there s nothing like that in Hingham. Why not give it a try? Sylvester explained. Bone-ified dog-pleasers Today, Sylvester still has wholesale accounts, but has added a retail store, Maggie s Dog House, featuring a large glass bakery case filled with whole-wheat-based dog biscuits made by a local baker and decorated with carob and yogurt icing by Sylvester.
There are biscuits shaped like baseballs, footballs, fire hydrants, lobster, doughnuts, bones and doghouses with flavors that are tail waggin -good: twists with Parmesan cheese in the dough and melted on top; peanut butter bone biscuits containing fresh ground peanut butter; and bacon bone biscuits made with bits of real bacon. Before the holidays, Maggie s Dog House will also carry an assortment of Christmas cookies for dogs.
Many times a day, customers say the dog treats, which are made with human-grade ingredients, look good enough for people to eat. But Sylvester leaves the taste-testing to her yellow Labrador retriever, Bailey, and her canine customers. ‘‘To us, the cookies taste bland because there s no sugar in them. But dogs love them, she said.