Scottsdale brewery offers menu for dogs, donates proceeds to animal rescue

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - The Phoenix Beer Company in Scottsdale has gone to the dogs - literally. 

The locally-owned brewery has recently added a dog menu with sales from their dog biscuits going to a local Valley shelter.

"Since opening, we have been blessed with a lot of folks coming in here with their dogs," said operating partner Rick Stark.

So many dogs, in fact, that the brewery has a menu just for the pups, including offerings like grilled chicken and hamburger. Bowls of water are on the house.

"It was really prompted by the number of requests we were getting from guests who had dogs," said Stark. 

Then came the idea to recycle ingredients used to brew beer and use them to bake dog biscuits.

"Doing some research, I realized that spent grain is being used by other breweries for dog biscuits, and I reached out to Smelly Dog, which is a dog grooming and dog bakery [service]," said Stark.

The ingredients are all pup-friendly and include spent grain, whole wheat flour, peanut butter and eggs.

The biscuits were an instant hit and now a portion of proceeds from sales help Arizona Small Dog Rescue.

"Sometimes we get a lot of older dogs that require dentals and X-rays, medical needs with age [brings] more medical costs," said Dani Joslin, a spokesperson for the rescue. 

The rescue, which is a no-kill shelter, racks up plenty of costs in caring for their animals.

"Especially during these challenging times, we think it's critically important for businesses to partner with nonprofits and those in the community who are in need, because otherwise they are going to fall on even more difficult times," said Stark with PHX Beer Co.

What Stark says isn't difficult, though, is making a difference by helping the shelter save as many dogs as possible and get them into good homes.

He says making a difference can be as easy as taking in the views from the restaurant's patio and buying a few biscuits.