👋 Hi, I’m Erik — Dog Dad, Backyard Smoker, and Reluctant Entrepreneur

When Marley joined the Senders family, we did what any good pet parents would do — we went out looking for the best treats we could find.

And what we found? Well… it wasn’t great.

The bones were cooked until they turned brittle, with barely any marrow left — the good stuff was gone — then doused in liquid smoke. The whole experience felt mass-produced, over-processed, and completely underwhelming.

So my son Sam said: what if we just made our own?

Built in the Backyard. Perfected by Trial & Error.

What began as a DIY experiment quickly became a neighborhood phenomenon. I started smoking bones in our backyard — experimenting with real hickory wood, low temperatures, and long smoke times.

It wasn’t perfect at first (just ask my neighbors), but we eventually cracked the code.

We started slow‑smoking marrow bones by hand.

• The flavor? Unreal.
• The texture? Tough enough for the biggest chewer.
• And most importantly? Marley was obsessed.

Word spread. Local dogs couldn’t get enough.

A local pet store owner asked to stock them. Then another. And another.

Before we knew it, Mika & Sammy’s — named after our two wonderful kids Mikaela & Sam — went from a backyard idea to a family‑run business shipping gourmet treats across the country.

But one thing has never changed: We still make everything by hand, in small batches, with ingredients we trust.

Every single item we sell is made by hand, in small batches, using:

• ✔ Real, antibiotic‑free beef
• ✔ Slow‑smoking techniques
• ✔ No fillers, no additives, no junk

If it’s not good enough for Marley & Phife, it’s not good enough for yours. That’s our rule — and our promise.