Creating Dog Treats in Memory of Zeppy

Renee DiSisto recalled very clearly when Zeppy first showed signs of being ill.

“On walks, she would just stop,” DiSisto said. “She was breathing heavier and there was a lot of lethargy.” 

It was unusual for a 6-year-old medium-sized Pit Bull and Labrador mix with a great personality. A veterinarian in West Hollywood found the dog after she was hit by a car and abandoned on New Year’s Eve. DiSisto adopted the dog from the vet, and they had some good years until the illness showed up.

They found out Zeppy had Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (or AIHA), a disease where the body attacks its own red blood cells. 

After six months of steroid treatments, vitamin therapy and a few blood transfusions, Zeppy succumbed to the often-fatal illness.

While Zeppy was sick, DiSisto’s mother Sarah found a recipe for dog biscuits that seemed to pep up the ill pup.

“She baked some healthy biscuits for Zeppy,” DiSisto recalled. “My mom gave us the idea to develop a recipe for a dog cookie business and do it in Zeppy’s memory. A portion of the profits goes to research for AIHA.

DiSisto found more and more dogs getting the disease. No one knows what causes it, but the dog begins to breathe heavier, refuses to eat, gets pale gums and discolored urine. There is no cure, but it can be controlled.

“It was hard to watch,” DiSisto said. “Zeppy did not survive it. If I can get more awareness of it out there so that a dog suffers a little less, then that will be good.”

DiSisto brings her Zeppy’s Zeppelins to trade shows and festivals throughout the area to tell her dog’s story. At the First Christian Church of North Hollywood based in Studio City, she had posters of Zeppy and brochures about the illness.

“I never heard of it before Zeppy came down with it,” DiSisto said, “But it’s amazing how many people said they had a dog with the same symptoms, or were diagnosed with it.”

DiSisto and her family are longtime active locals—all with dogs—and all have helped out with Zeppy’s Zeppelins treats.

Renee’s brother Richard DiSisto, former owner of Lucy’s 51 in Toluca Lake and now owns Mad Bull Tavern and the Spitting Chicken Cantina  both in Sherman Oaks, and they all have animals that taste test their constantly-improving cookies.

Her brother has two Pugs, and they like the crunchy treats that are good for their teeth. Renee’s sister, and partner, Michele Soto, has a yellow Labrador that also loves the treats as well as younger sister Danielle's dogs, a Husky-Shepherd mix and a French Bulldog that are official taste testers on the East Coast.

Renee’s dogs now, a Beagle mix named Molly and a Border Collie named Maddy, are two finicky girl dogs that don’t like every put in front of them to eat.

“I get good results about 99 percent of the time,” DiSisto said.

Zeppy’s contains whole wheat flour, chicken broth, peanut butter, egg, non-fat dry milk, parsley and vegetable oil. There’s crude protein and fiber and it’s baked in a certified kitchen.

“We are trying new things, too, we’re trying a no-wheat version in case dogs have allergies,” DiSisto said. “It’s an interesting process, it’s like chemistry.”

The treats are good for rewards, and training.

“We want to keep the recipe simple and healthy,” DiSisto said. “People who love their animals are much more aware today about what they feed their pets. They are wiser about not getting something from overseas and what dogs can eat.”

Dogs can eat vegetables and some fruits, for example. They wanted the design to be different and decided to make it the shape of a blimp, which went nicely with Zeppy's name.

“We want to make something for your dogs that is healthy and something they will like,” DiSisto said. “And if we can help inform people about this disease, that’s all the better."

You can find Zeppy’s Zeppelins treats at A’ la Mutt in Toluca Lake and Pets Naturally on Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks.

You can also order them directly here: http://www.zeppyszeppelins.com