Stephanie Spear 
One of Northern Virginia’s most popular treats is a small-batch, handmade cookie. This cookie has been found in hotel welcome kits, party goodie bags, national wholesale orders, and other spots for a VIT (very important treat). This cookie is actually a dog treat, and it’s made by the team at Pawfectly Delicious Dog Treats, an Alexandria-based nonprofit organization created to employ young adults with disabilities. Anne Tuccillo founded the organization when her adult son, Bryan, aged out of special education services in Fairfax County. The Fairfax Girl visited the Pawfectly Delicious kitchen to learn more about the treats and the mission. Read on for more about Pawfectly Delicious Dog Treats.
Backstory
Like many parents of children with disabilities, Anne Tuccillo found herself at a crossroads when her son Bryan was about to age out of Fairfax County’s special education services. “It turns out there are a lot of us,” she said. “Parents who want to find meaningful work and programs for their adult children with disabilities, and there really aren’t a lot of choices.”
Many parents of adults with disabilities are still searching for ways to give their children structure and independence after school ends. At the time, Anne was working at the Department of Education’s Office of Federal Student Aid. A coworker suggested that she create something for Bryan to do, such as starting a business. “She had a recipe for homemade dog treats and said we should try it out,” Anne said.
Anne and Bryan used the recipe and started making dog treats in their home kitchen in 2016. Anne retired from DOE, and Pawfectly Delicious became an official business in 2017. The operation moved into a dedicated space at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Alexandria for baking and packing in 2018. “We started with four young men in 2018, and now we have 12 paid employees, with one more completing an internship,” Anne said. “We have a good retention rate; employees can stay as long as they want.”
Pawfectly Delicious is designed around the idea that the workplace should adapt to employees – not the other way around. The team uses tools like customized rolling pins, visual templates, step-by-step guides, and adapted packing tools to help employees complete tasks successfully and confidently. “We modify the environment to meet employees where they are,” Anne said. “So that might mean special tools or templates to complete tasks.”
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“We work with the employees on skills including counting money, working the iPad, taking orders at market pop-ups,” Anne said. “This helps them connect their work to the end product, and their paycheck.” Employees are on the baking or packaging team, and everyone plays a part in getting the treats baked, packaged, and out the door.
In addition to creating an inclusive workplace, the Pawfectly Delicious team has created an Employee Wellness Initiative to further benefit employees. Darcy Kohn, Outreach and Marketing Lead, says that the program connects employees to mental and physical health benefits they may not have access to, which is especially important given the high rates of comorbidities in the disabled community. “We work with a music therapist, a chair yoga instructor, and we work with a coach from CrossFit Lorton to help with nutrition and movement coaching,” she said.
The Business of Biscuits
The team works during the week to bake and package the treats, and then sells them at local farmers’ markets and other special events during the weekends. We visited the Pawfectly Delicious kitchen just ahead of the holiday rush and saw the group in action, pulling trays from the oven, labeling packages, and packing up orders. Most of all, we smelled the truly incredible smell of the ginger biscuits – there is no mistaking the homemade aroma.
The biscuits are available in 4-ounce and 8-ounce bags. A simple, ginger-flavored recipe is used all year round, and the team uses cookie cutters for different holidays and occasions. The biscuits are available through the company website, at the local farmers’ markets where Pawfectly Delicious pops up, and at several local retailers in the DMV area.
A big accomplishment for the company was creating key partnerships in the hospitality industry. “We make custom heart-shaped treats in special bags for dog-friendly hotels,” Anne said. “We work with the Hotel Monaco and the Hotel George in DC, plus several other hotels nationwide.” Pawfectly Delicious treats are available through Procure Impact, a purchasing platform that connects hospitality businesses with mission-driven companies, often with a social impact element. “In 2025 we made 2,000 bags of treats for the hotels,” Anne said.
Looking Ahead
Pawfectly Delicious operates as a 100% nonprofit, meaning every dollar, from treat sales, donations, and fundraising, goes back into supporting employees and growing the program.
Anne said that at the core of the organization’s mission is still finding meaningful employment for adults with disabilities. “Employers have failed the disability community because they’re not offering opportunities, as they should,” she said. “I think it makes everybody’s community better when everybody can feel included.”
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Anne continued. “This is such a wonderful employment pool that I think is untapped. Our employees show up for work on time, and they do their job. There’s very little pushback in terms of compliance with rules and regulations. Their attitude is good.”
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Anne and Darcy said that the organization will continue to share recommendations and educate other workplaces on successful accommodations for individuals with disabilities. “Our next big goal is to increase the number of donors and to expand reach for grant funding to help us employ more people,” Anne said.
The group’s biggest fundraiser of the year is coming up on June 7th. Paws and Pours is a dog-friendly festival with food, drinks, live music, a silent auction, and more. “We love this event as it is not only an opportunity for us to raise necessary funds to help our nonprofit continue to grow and thrive, but it’s a chance to spotlight and celebrate our incredible rockstar team of adults with disabilities,” Darcy said.
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