Yellowknife (Mar 31/04) - There's a new small business in town called Back Bay Bones.

What does this new business do? Well, the name is fairly explanatory -- they basically bake bones for dogs.

The new owners of Back Bay Bones, from left, Kim Cliffe-Phillips and Christine Misak, along with canine friend Hazel at Caribou Carnival. Phillips and Misak were at the carnival selling their dog treats. - Stephan Burnett/NNSL photo

Owners Kim Cliffe-Phillips and Christine Misak say they started the business because they love their dogs.

"We started baking the treats in our home out of love for our dogs. Christine has Hazel and I have Kati and Kai," says Cliffe-Phillips.

The recipe for Back Bay Bones is top secret, but Cliffe-Phillips adds all the ingredients are organic and natural.

"They love liver so we throw some of that in there and it went from there," she says.

The bone bakers started in on their endeavour a couple of months ago, says Misak.

"We froze the product with the intention of introducing the product at Caribou Carnival," says Misak. "I just got tired of reading a long list of ingredients on food for my dog. I knew there was a simple natural recipe," says Misak.

While sales have not been "too bad," Misak mentions they do have some overhead to deal with, such as the cost of the bags and ingredients, as well as the cost of propane to cook the puppy treats.

The entrepreneurial dog lovers haven't looked into selling to pet stores yet, but Misak adds many of those stores have already come out with their own line of canine treats.