Franklin resident Abigail Broadway, age 12, launched her own pet business at the age of 9. Abbi was diagnosed with epilepsy and had her first seizure when she was two weeks old. By her first birthday, she was battling life-threatening allergies. Abbi always wanted to own a pet business and wrote her first business plan on an easel when she was four years old.
Abbi started baking and selling her homemade treats for dogs at the Franklin-Simpson Farmers’ Market in 2016 with the goal of raising money for a service dog. Her sales flourished and she was soon shipping treats out to customers throughout the United States. Abbi was successful in raising the funds for her service dog Wrylan, but she wasn’t ready to stop her efforts. She wanted to continue to raise funds to help others afford service dogs and to bring awareness to seizure disorders. Soon, with the support of her mother, Robin Broadway, Abbi’s Barkery became a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization and her bricks and mortar store came into existence on the Square in Franklin. The bricks and mortar store closed at the end of 2019, but Abbi’s Barkery is alive & well and growing – just as Abbi herself is growing up.
In 2017, Abbi’s Barkery launched it’s first fundraiser Wag-O-Ween which was held in late October on the Courthouse Square. 2020 will be the 4th year for Wag-O-Ween with a renewed focus for its fundraising efforts – Abbi’s Barkery’s Paws In Service initiative. Abbi’s Barkey has already started planning Wag-O-Ween 2020 with the goal of making it an even bigger event with increased funds being raised that will support the Simpson County Animal Shelter and Paws In Service. Paws In Service was a natural progression for Abbi’s Barkery. Abbi’s mission of helping shelter dogs, children with seizure disorders and disabled Veterans who need trained service dogs is the foundation of what Paws In Service is all about. With the support of the community, Abbi desires to be able to provide trained service dogs to individuals at no cost to them and save lives of shelter dogs at the same time. It’s a WIN-WIN.
PAWS IN SERVICE 