Abbey Bishop seems like your typical high school student. She goes to school, hangs out with her friends, and completes other tasks that arise. However, what you may not know is that she has her own business: PAWSomeItems. This small, local company markets a variety of collars, toys, leashes, treats, and even dog seat belts.

Bishop has been running this business for almost a year and a half now, and said her number one reason to create it is her love for animals. She said that a girl she previously babysat for used to make these products and she thought it was interesting, so she decided she would like to try it out as well.

Bishop makes her merchandise at her house in a separate room, and there are many aspects that go into creating these products. According to Bishop, the materials you need depends on what you are making. Collars require webbing, ribbon, and the hardware for it, toys need fleece and fur or rope, and treats have various components. Once, Bishop used a chicken heart to make a treat, and said, “It was disgusting, but my dog liked it.”

On average, collars take 10-15 minutes to make depending on what the customer wants, and cost $15 for the larger size, $10 for the smaller size, and $5 for cats. Toys take about five minutes to make and cost $5, a bag of five treats costs $5 and a bag of 10 treats costs $6.

Bishop said her favorite part about running PAWSomeItems is probably making things for her own dog. “Seeing dogs happy is something I like,” she added. Her plan is to go to college for business and then open a store later in life. She would like to have a pet store with puppies in it.

PAWSomeItems has sold to many places throughout the country. The farthest is California, and according to Bishop, she has also sold to a rescue group in Georgia. Some teachers here at AHS have even bought products from her including Allison Berryhill, Emma Bireline, and Tucker Weber.

Overall, Bishop says that her business has been “pretty good”, and that she has gotten five out of five stars on her Etsy page. In a year, she has made about five or six hundred dollars. In order to contact her about buying a product, customers can find her Etsy page, use the business’ email ([email protected]), visit her Facebook page, or search her website.