A young girl’s dream of treating animals like royalty has come true — thanks to lots of hard work.
At age 8, Chicago resident Ava Dorsey started developing recipes for organic pet treats in her family kitchen.Her rescue dog, Rock, and orange cat, Pumpkin, proved to be more-than-willing taste testers. Soon it was time to start sharing treats with neighbors and going to local pet shows to market her products.
Ava Dorsey pitches her business in front of 700 people at Chicago's L.E.G.A.C.Y. Awards Gala, where she was named 2020 Young Entrepreneur of the Year and awarded $15,000 in cash and prizes.That tenacity paid off. Today, she sells her treats to pet lovers in all 50 states, filling hundreds of orders a week with the help of her mom, Ina Jones, who left a career in commercial real estate to work for Ava’s Pet Palace full time.