Do your dogs get treated better than you do? Mine do and they know it. Thankfully, they are good at "showing the love." Anybody who has pets knows what I mean.

People consider their dogs and cats as part of the family and as nutrition becomes a more pressing issue in our country, people are putting extra thought and care into their petsrsquo; health as well.

Nobody understands better how well we are treating our pets than Kansas City-based Three Dog Bakery. I talked with "lead dog" Scott Ragan and discussed the importance of the heritage of the company and how he's keeping an eye toward growth in this ever increasing competitive category.

Three Dog Bakery now has 51 bakery locations in North America and Japan, with additional bakeries opening daily worldwide. The company expects to operate 200 to 250 bakeries worldwide by 2012.

According to the non-profit American Pet Products Manufacturers Association, Inc., U.S. pet food sales are expected to reach $17 billion in 2007, a 5% increase from $16.2 billion in 2006. The all-natural industry segment is growing more than twice as fast as the traditional per category alone.

Three Dog Bakery products are specially formulated for pets, not pet food. All of Three Dog bakery products parallel human products in terms of appearance, nutrition, premium quality and gourmet taste. Three Dog Bakery products are all natural with no artificial preservatives or colors.

Around the world, attitudes about pet food are changing. The attention towards healthy and nutritious food for our families is being passed on to our pets. Thatrsquo;s why therersquo;s never been a more exciting time to be a part of the pet industry. And, Three Dog Bakery is the industry leader, when it comes to healthy, wholesome, natural, oven-baked food and treats for dogs.

So, do you think you have what it takes to own and operate a Three Dog Bakery? If so, you picked an exciting time in company history. Three Dog plans to open a significant number of bakeries over the next 36 months with an all new design, perfect for those upscale shopping areas.

Makes you want to sit up and beg for a franchise.