We didn’t set out to start a business. We were simply trying to care better for Oreo.

In her later years, Oreo became very particular about her meals. She was on prescription wet food, and she strongly preferred a freshly opened can. Once a can had been opened and stored in the fridge, she often turned away from it.

For a senior dog who needed that food, this created a real problem. We wanted her to eat well, but we also couldn’t keep throwing away can after can of expensive prescription food.

One evening, I found myself standing in front of the refrigerator, staring at a growing collection of half-used cans and thinking, “There has to be a better way.”

That was the beginning of Cahogi™, but the story doesn’t start there.

My wife raised Oreo’s parents, Gizmo and Hershey. She still tells the story of coming home the day Oreo was born to find an anxious dad and an exhausted but proud mama. From that day forward, Oreo was woven into the fabric of their lives. I was only welcomed into the pack later, when Oreo was already seven years old.

Oreo was with us through moves, milestones, quiet mornings, starting a family, sleepless nights, and ordinary days that now feel anything but ordinary. Sadly, Oreo passed away in March of this year, just one month before her 19th birthday.

Cahogi is her legacy. It began as a way to make her next meal better, and that is what drives this project today.

Pancakes and Waffles joined our pack in 2022, and they now help us carry Oreo’s story forward. Pancakes will do just about anything for food or a belly rub, and Waffles, true to form, occasionally gets lost in the curtains. Although we miss Hershey, Gizmo, and Oreo dearly, Pancakes and Waffles keep our home lively, loving, and just chaotic enough. They are also, without question, the most popular pups in the neighborhood.