Louisville dog biscuit maker focused on changing employees' lives
The Wigglewow Dog House provides jobs for people with special needs.
LOUISVILLE (WTHR) - A new company in Kentucky makes all-natural dog biscuits... and a difference in people's lives.
The Wigglewow Dog House provides jobs for people with special needs.
It's been Derek Bearry's employer for nearly four months.
"Well, this part is hard because it takes a lot of pressure to stamp out the wow," he said.
He's happy to be part of the operation.
"It means that I'll wake up and have a job, which is great."
Danielle Wilkerson's tenure is signficantly shorter than Derek's. She just started here yesterday and refers to her co-workers as friends.
"We're best friends here," she said.
Derek and Danielle fill "epic chef" jobs at the company, preparing the dog biscuits.
"It's awesome," she said.
But the company's unique end product is almost beside the point for Danielle's mother.
"To be in a job that embraces her even more about all of her abilities and to learn this new process about baking and, you know, looking at the end results of the little dog treat, I'm just really excited for her," said Mona Wilkerson. "It's all about focusing on someone's abilities rather than their disabilities so that's the focus that Mark has."
She's referring to Mark Pfeifer, who left a corporate job to start the company in August.
Pfeifer isn't thinking small, when it comes to the future. His ten year plan is that Wigglewow becomes the nation's largest employer of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
