DECATUR - Sadye has eaten her dog food from a dish perched atop a stepping stool since her puppy days.

Since Christmas, however, the 11-year-old golden retriever has dined from an oak pet buffet that attractively holds both her food and water bowls several inches off the floor.

"It's easier on her neck because she's a bigger dog," said her owner, Mary Little of Decatur. "Plus it looks so nice in the kitchen. It doesn't look like you threw your dog bowl in the corner."

Sadye's Christmas present came from Decatur's newest source of pet supplies and treats - Millie & Bo's Pet Barkery at Northgate Pet Plaza at 2800 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.

As the shop's name implies, fresh-baked goodies for dogs are its main stock and trade.

Baskets of them tantalize customers - especially the four-legged variety - as they come in the door. On display are an assortment including Bo's Bark-B-Q Chips, Beefy Garlic Bites, Millie's Chicken Stars, Bo's Allergy Treats, Oatmeal Soft Chews, Millie's Favorite Peanut Butter Paws and Bo's Beefy Bones (available in two sizes).

Inside the display case beneath the cash register are large and small dipped "bones" and vanilla sandwiches iced with - what else? - almond bark.

Manager Alissa Spellman, a former manager at Panera Bread, said she's still hunting for good cat treat recipes. Because the barkery uses no artificial preservatives and most cat treats are moist, she has yet to find one with a decent shelf life. "We may have to purchase those instead of baking them ourselves," she said.

Beyond the edible items are a variety of pet toys and accessories, such as sleeping bags for traveling cats and dogs, custom bed cushions and sunglasses.

"We may seem higher priced," Spellman said, "but we try to stock higher-end items you won't find at Petco or Wal-Mart."

Examples include Talk to Me TreatPup, which lets your dog hear your voice and receive treats while you're gone, for $19.99. The barkery also carries a line of Battle-Tested Toys ranging from $5.59 to $11.09.

Speaking of testing, store owners Larry and Angee Baker have tried out many of the items the store carries on their own dogs - not coincidentally a 5-year-old Labrador-shepherd mix named Millie and a 2-year-old rottweiler-Labrador mix named Bo.

"We want to make sure the stuff is good before we sell it," said Larry Baker, a veterinarian at Northgate Pet Clinic.

Millie's PupLight on her collar, for example, allows the couple to keep track of her when they go running in the country near their home before the sun comes up. The PupLight sells for $21.49.

The inspiration for their barkery came from a similar store the Bakers saw while traveling through Des Moines, Iowa.

Millie & Bo's Pet Barkery opened Nov. 29 in a building that also houses the Humane Society of Decatur and Macon County and the Bakers' obedience school. It was previously home to Pets Galore.

The official greeter is Spellman's black puppy Dozer, a Labrador-collie mix who can blend in with the shop's black and white checkerboard floor while sleeping.

The barkery also carries pet memorial items, including headstones, offers pet paintings by local artist Helen Hamilton and soon hopes to open a studio for pet photography.

Its hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.

Theresa Churchill can be reached at tchurchill@;herald-review.com or 421-7978.