Best Local Company

When customers all over the world order from Three Dog Bakery, they don't shop a catalog. They shop a dogalog. Because at 3 Dog, everything is done doggie-style. Just like a canine, the company is goofy (its Web site is packed with dog puns), straightforward (no weird additives in its dog food, biscuits and treats) and kind (it funds the Gracie Foundation, a "canine Red Cross" dedicated to helping abused and abandoned pups). Its headquarters is in downtown Kansas City (the greeter is a dalmatian receptionist), but 3 Dog now has stores all over the country -- and one in Japan. Dog lovers can spoil their pooches with the Dino Bone (a one-pound baked peanut-butter treat 3 Dog calls "the world's largest bone"); Snicker Poodles (crunchy honey-cinnamon treats adorned with an impression of the fluffy breed); Muddy Paws (paw-shaped cakes dipped in carob); and Bulldog Bars (carob-dipped bones layered with honey-yogurt icing). So load up the "shopping basset."