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Raleigh Business Caters to People and Pets

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These rawhide candy canes are the biggest hits among dogs.
RALEIGH — It's the time of year to buy gifts for your loved ones, but what if yourloved one is not quite human? Pet gifts and toys are big business.There's even poll research that shows which pet toys rate as favorites.The Black Dog Café caters to both people and pets.

"I thought it would be a good opportunity to give people something goodto eat and buy something for their dogs before they go home," Martinexplains."

The Black Dog Caf&#233 is a restaurant and pet gift shop in DowntownRaleigh.Mary Hunter Martin sells pet toys that rank as national favorites.Rawhide candy canes rank number one. They're good for both big dogs andlittle dogs too.

Second in puppy popularity are cookies not fit for human consumption. Number three on the survey are stockings. Always number one on a cat'slist. anything with cat nip inside.

Mary admits, many of her gifts are really for the animal lovers themselves.

"We find that lots of people whose dogs have died get by things for thetop of their trees for some sort of memorial," says Martin.

WRAL put many of the toys to the test with some pets from the Wake CountySPCA. They don't care very much about the toys, they'd rather have ownersinstead.

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